Eavesdropping
by bluegirl-783
Summary: Charlotte accidentally sees some tender moments in Clarisse and Joseph's relationship and gains a better understanding of both and protecting them becomes part of her job, something she doesn't mind doing in the slightest.
1. First Impressions

Charlotte Kutaway was a native born Genovian but had spent much of her teen years and early twenties in England, first at boarding school, then college and then finally at a specialist school specialising in diplomacy and politics- she had ambitions to eventually enter parliament back in Genovia when she had had enough experience, although she had to admit that it was a long shot, considering His Majesty King Rupert Renaldi, the current ruler of Genovia, had made known his opinion of women in parliament (as proved by his record of having none in parliament), the only exception being his wife, Her Majesty Queen Clarisse Renaldi, and even then that was rare.

But Charlotte was determined- and when she was determined, there was nothing that would stand in her way. She could do this.

She had returned to Genovia upon graduation from the diplomatic academy and enrolled with the Genovia Attaché Corp as a junior personal assistant to one of the diplomats- any experience would help- and she was surprised to discover that while she had to initially do menial tasks including getting coffee and doing the mail run, that she enjoyed it, particularly, a year or so into employment, she was promoted to being a personal assistant to one of the diplomats attached to the palace (and she also hoped that she might be able to accompany one of the diplomats if they were sent overseas, representing Genovia in one of the European countries, especially if they were posted there for a couple of years) and she began to spend time at the palace, accompanying her boss to meetings with the palace press secretary, meetings with His Majesty's personal secretary and even… attending the rare parliament meeting.

She very rarely saw Her Majesty, but the first time she saw her, Charlotte couldn't believe how beautiful she was in person- she had seen her in the papers and in the news when out in public, but seeing her up close… she couldn't help but admire her more.

She also noticed that she was accompanied by an entourage of dark suited men (almost as many as the King himself) and she couldn't help but notice that one of the older men was a little closer to her than others but Charlotte assumed that he was her Head of Security and had to stay closer to the Queen than the others.

She asked her boss who the Head of Security was for the King and Queen on their way back to the embassy and he shrugged.

"They have two- his Majesty's is Anthony Dubois, has been there for at least twenty five years and doesn't do a bad job; Her Majesty's is Joseph Bonnell and while he's only been her Head of Security for a couple of years, he has always been a good guy."

"Why separate Heads of Security?"

"Exactly why they have two separate personal assistants and press secretaries… they are two separate units that represent the Crown- and I have to admit that it's a good idea, particularly in regards to His Majesty."

"Why is that?"

"You've surely heard that he has a reputation of being… difficult?"

"No, I hadn't heard that." Charlotte fibbed, although she _had_ heard that, as well as the reputation he was gaining as being a 'ladies' man' and that that reputation wasn't as innocent as it would seem.

"Well, it just seemed easier if there were two separate units formed for them and I have to admit that it works well… why do you ask?"

"I was just curious… I want to know as much as I can about the political and diplomatic system in Genovia… and that includes knowing about who works around and with their Majesties. I find it fascinating."

"So I can see," he gave her a smile, almost visibly impressed at the attention to detail that Charlotte Kutaway was interested in- the interview had impressed him and her work had been fantastic, hence the promotion to his personal assistant, but he also knew that this position was only a stepping stone to an extraordinary career, and he was keen to help her in any way he could, and he already had an idea that could possibly help her….

0

A week later, her boss called her into his officer, something that surprised and worried Charlotte- had she done something wrong?

"Don't look so worried," he said upon seeing her expression as she sat down opposite him in the chair in front of his desk. "This is nothing bad… in fact, I have a feeling that this might be very good news for you…"

"What is it?" Charlotte couldn't help but ask eagerly, curiosity piqued- she had only been with the diplomat for a year, what could it be?

"There is a position available at the palace, as the Queen's junior private assistant… you would answer to her private secretary but it also includes accompanying her to parliament when necessary and dealing with us on certain diplomatic issues, as well as assisting in planning her schedule and her foreign trips."

"What… does….that have to do with me?"

"I have put you forward for the position, and you have an interview with Her Majesty and her the Head of this office in two days."

"What?!" Charlotte gasped in disbelief, sitting back in her chair and letting out a long breath, a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.

"You heard me," the older man sat back in his chair with a warm smile- he appreciated her stupefaction and he knew that he would miss her, she was that good in her position but he knew that this position would be perfect for her, hence he had already given his boss his reference for her.

"But… but… aren't I too young for the position?"

"I wouldn't think so… why? Don't you think that you could do the job?"

"No, no, no- I'm sure that I could, it's just…."

"You don't want to leave here?" he joked gently and she smiled slightly.

"It's not that- and I do enjoy my position here… it's just…why me?"

"Because you are quite capable of doing the job, you and I both know it and I want you to have the opportunity to extend yourself professionally… and I think you're going to be fine."

000

Two days later, Charlotte found herself driving her car through the palace gates, up the driveway and parking in front of the front doors, two small figures waiting for her- one was a black suited security man who, Clarisse assumed, was present to collect her car; the other figure, an older woman with dark, greying hair and dressed conservatively in a dark grey skirt and matching blouse.

"Good morning, Ms Kutaway," the woman said as Charlotte stepped out of the car, the door held open by the dark suited man. "My name is Jane Kent and I'm Her Majesty's private secretary."

"Good morning," Charlotte said shyly, but before she could say anymore, Jane spun on her heel and headed back towards the palace stairs, a clear indicator that Charlotte was to follow her.

When she stepped into the foyer of the palace, Charlotte looked around at her in awe- she had been in the foyer of the palace quite a few times in the past two years, but it still took her breath away, the grandeur, the well placed and well decorated paintings and the flowers that adorned every table in sight- a touch she believed the Queen contributed.

"Ms Kutaway?" the nasal voice broke into her thoughts and she glanced over to see the older woman looking impatiently at her and Charlotte had the sense that the woman didn't like her. "This way, if you please. Her Majesty is still upstairs, but you will have your interview in her study."

Again, Charlotte was taken aback by the opulence of the Queen's study, although it was much simpler than she had assumed- several good pictures were arranged on the wall, the windows looked out on the garden, there were a few framed photographs on the adjacent table and behind her desk was a wall length book shelf, full of books.

"Please sit," Jane instructed curtly, pointing to one of the chairs opposite the Queen's large, wooden polished desk and Charlotte did as she was asked, smoothing down the skirt of her navy blue suit and hoping that it wasn't too short to be considered inappropriate. "Her Majesty will be with us in a moment…"

"No need, I'm here," came the clear, crisp English accent from behind Charlotte and she immediately stood up and turned to meet the eyes of the woman who was Queen and could be her new boss and she knew that the pictures and the news clips didn't do Her Majesty any justice.

She was in her late forties, early fifties, Charlotte surmised, and while there were the usual signs of aging around her eyes and mouth, she was still youthful looking enough to pass for younger, particularly with her bright sapphire blue eyes and peaches and cream complexion, still visible under the layer of makeup she was wearing.

Charlotte immediately felt that her skirt was too short, considering Her Majesty was wearing a pale blue linen suit, similar to hers but the length of her skirt was just below the knees, and her heels were shorter than hers, but she was still tall enough to meet her eye length.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Charlotte gave her a brief curtsey and Her Majesty smiled warmly at her as she stepped forward, her right hand outstretched.

"You must be Ms Kutaway, I've heard so much about you."

"Really?" Charlotte couldn't help but blurt out as she stood up and took Her Majesty's hand in her own and immediately wished she hadn't, although the Queen didn't look bothered- in fact, she looked amused.

"Yes, your boss was quite… effusive in his reference for you. I b, believe you have met Jane, my private secretary," she waved towards the woman who was standing beside the desk.

"Yes, I have."

"This is my personal bodyguard, Joseph Bonnell," the queen stood aside and a dark suited man stepped up to take Charlotte's hand in his.

"A pleasure to meet you," Charlotte said quietly, blushing slightly at his intense gaze- for a personal bodyguard, he was quite handsome but he wasn't her type. He was about Her Majesty's age, if not a little older, with thinning hair, an earring in his earring and a tanned complexion, emphasised all the more by his dark suit and dark eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Ms Kutaway," he responded in a low, husky voice and Charlotte finally looked up to meet warm, welcoming eyes and smile.

"You will be working closely with Joseph as well, hence he will be sitting in on the interview," Her Majesty interrupted as she moved around her desk towards her chair, Jane stepping aside so she could get there, while Joseph dropped her hand and stepped to the other side of the desk and Charlotte sank back in her chair, feeling more than a little apprehensive, particularly given at the trio sitting opposite her- _could she really do this?_

Her Majesty smiled warmly again, as if sensing her discomfort.

"It's perfectly alright, Ms Kutaway, we won't bite… May I call you Charlotte?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," Charlotte said quietly.

"Charlotte… well, let's begin, shall we?'

0

Charlotte let out a deep breath as she finally stepped out of the palace and took a long, deep breath in of fresh air- it had only been an hour, but it had seemed like more. She had expected the questions (and she was fairly sure of her answers and knew what she was saying) but she hadn't had an interview in about five years and she had forgotten the intensity of the process, the way you always had to know exactly what to say and how to say the right thing. Her Majesty had been non-committal but pleasant, as had her personal bodyguard, but her secretary… it had felt like a grilling.

"Are you alright?" came a voice from behind her and she turned to see Joseph strolling across the foyer and joining her outside on the step.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said ruefully. "I had forgotten how intense interviews can be."

"Yes, they can be quite intense," Joseph agreed musingly. "However, in all other interviews, you don't have Ms Kent shooting questions at you."

"Yes… she was a little…."

"You don't need to explain to me, I know what you're talking about… I don't know how Her Majesty works with her," he said, rolling his eyes and Charlotte looked at him questioningly- she hadn't thought that her comment would evoke such sentiment from Joseph, but it was clear that he didn't like the Queen's personal secretary.

"Hopefully…."

"Yes, hopefully you will be able to work with her… she's difficult but I'm sure you can handle her."

"Me… handle her? How do you know that I've got the job?"

"Her Majesty likes you, I could tell, and I'm very much impressed with the interest and knowledge you had about the job… did you do some research beforehand?"

"Yes…" she looked down, abashed and Joseph smiled.

"Don't be ashamed of being prepared, it's a quality that is very much admired when doing interviews, and I have done quite a few in my time."

"You….?"

"Yes, I'm Her Majesty's personal bodyguard but I'm also her Head of Security, hence I've done a lot of interviewing over the years."

Just then, the sound of a car engine broke the silence and Charlotte saw that her car being stopped in front of the steps, precisely as she had done earlier.

"I…"

"Thank you for coming," Joseph turned and offered his hand. "You had a good interview… and I hope that you will accept the job, when it's offered to you."

"I…." Charlotte still wanted to know how he knew that she would get the job (and she still had doubts that she would, she was still fairly young) but before she could say anything more, he had turned and strode back into the palace, leaving her alone on the doorstep, many, many questions swirling in her mind, but there was one thing she knew- **she wanted the job**.

0

"Is she gone?"

"Yes… I think she found the whole process rather… intense."

"That was Jane's doing, not mine- I don't know how I let her get control of the interview."

"I don't know either, but I'm sure that young Ms Kutaway will handle her quite well."

"So you think I should offer her the job?"

"Yes, I do… and I think you already knew that. I think you made up your mind almost as soon as you saw her."

"Joseph! Really!"

"It's the truth, and we both know it."

"Yes… yes, I was going to offer her the job anyway… do you think she'll take it?"

"Oh, I think she will. Yes, I think she will."


	2. Early Days

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! This is a little different for me but I'm looking forward to it!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

Charlotte started work at the palace two weeks later and she had to admit that, almost from the beginning, it was very different to working with the Genovia Attaché Corp, but stimulating as well.

On her first day, Jane Kent spent much of the morning detailing her duties as her assistant, as well as the duties she would have dealing with parliament, although she wouldn't be dealing with parliament as often as His Majesty's assistants.

"Of course, I am Her Majesty's private secretary so I will be dealing with most of the correspondence and most of the delicate issues that affect her relationship with His Majesty and her professional life; I may delegate some tasks for you to do yourself, but much of the time, we will be working together."

Charlotte had expected those instructions- she hadn't had any more personal one on one contact with the Queen and she didn't expect so for at least a couple of months- and while she knew that it was clear that Jane resented her being hired (Charlotte assumed that she felt that the younger woman was usurping her own role) and resenting sharing the role, but she honestly didn't care- she was there to do a job and she was determined to do the job to the best of her ability.

For the first week or so of her employment, she only saw Her Majesty from a distance (and His Majesty not at all, although she had heard his voice echoing down the hallway to the office where she was situated) and both the royal princes were away at college/school, and she knew it would take a while to get to know the rest of the palace staff, but one person who had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome was the Queen's Head of Security, Joseph.

"How is your first week going?" he asked when they met in the hallway, Charlotte going to the kitchen for lunch and Joseph obviously having finished lunch. "Dealing with any delicate situations yet?"

"Not yet, I'm still getting used to the office and working with Ms Kent," Charlotte said, pleased that someone was speaking to her- the other staff were still daunted by her presence and Jane only spoke to her when necessary.

"Ah, the famous Ms Kent! Have you discovered her bad side?"

"Her bad side? I thought I was already on it… she doesn't seem to like me," Charlotte admitted, showing a slight touch of vulnerability, although it was something she didn't like showing, she much preferred remaining professional.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one she doesn't like… I don't think there's anyone here she really likes, except for Her Majesty."

"I wonder why that is."

"I don't know, but I wouldn't worry about Ms Kent not liking you- I don't think she's smiled in decades," Joseph chuckled and Charlotte couldn't resist joining in, although she couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she was being disrespectful towards her senior colleague.

"Anyway, if there is anything you need, you know where I am," he waved towards the closed door they were just standing in front of and Charlotte knew that was the security hub where Joseph and his men (including His Majesty's team) were located.

"Thank you, I appreciate that," she said politely before starting to move away towards the kitchen- she had to admit, she was starving- before Joseph's voice stopped her again.

"Ms Kutaway?"

"Charlotte, please," Charlotte turned back to him with a warm smile.

"Alright, Charlotte?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to the palace."

000

Charlotte soon settled into palace life and she knew that while there were some aspects of working with diplomats she missed, she knew that she was enjoying her work (even though it was mostly mundane work such as typing letters and royal schedules, as well as dealing with phone calls from the Attaché) and she knew her boss had been right in advising her for the job.

She met His Majesty three weeks into her new role- he had been away for a week and then had been holed up in his study or attending meetings- and she had to admit, he was still an attractive man, even into his fifties, but the rumours she had already begun to hear turned her off from wanting to work with him closely.

"Who is this?" she heard his voice as she worked at her desk, typing several letters that Jane had assigned to her only half an hour ago, and Charlotte looked up and was momentarily stunned before she stood up, almost knocking over her chair as Jane, from the other side of the room, hurried over.

"This is Charlotte Kutaway, Her Majesty's new link to the Attaché Corp," she said with reverence in her voice (but Charlotte knew that it was aimed towards him and not her) and Charlotte curtseyed politely before looking up and meeting intense blue eyes.

"Welcome to the palace, Ms Kutaway," the king said formally, holding a hand out to shake hers. "I hope you will enjoy working here and working for Her Majesty."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Charlotte said quietly, his hand holding hers a little longer than necessary and his eyes seeming to scrutinise her, before he dropped it and turned his attention to Jane. "Is Her Majesty in her study?"

"Yes sir," Jane said eagerly and led the way towards Her Majesty's closed study doors as Charlotte sank back into her chair, a little stunned at the meeting- yes, he was quite charismatic and she could understand his appeal to men and women, but the hand holding and the scrutiny made her feel a little uncomfortable and she was more than half grateful that she was working for Her Majesty rather than him.

0

Her meetings with the Princes were much more relaxed, if not quite unconventional- or not what she expected from royal princes of Genovia.

She was returning from lunch one day, a month or so after she had started and she wasn't thinking, already absorbed in the work she had to do that afternoon, before she collided with someone- a tall, muscular someone- and she was mortified upon discovering, when looking up, that she had collided with the handsome younger Prince Gerard Christophe Phillipe Renaldi, or as he was known, Phillipe.

"Your Highness! I am so sorry!" she gasped, instantly bending into a curtsey, her eyes back on the floor before she finally managed to look up to see dark brown eyes and an amused expression.

"It's quite alright, I shouldn't have been running… You must be my mother's new diplomatic assistant."

"Yes, Ms Kutaway," she offered a hand to him and he shook it.

"Very pleased to meet you… and you obviously know who I am," he added teasingly and Charlotte realised that he was flirting with her, even though he was only twenty or twenty one, if not a little older, a college student and she was several years older, being around the same age as his older brother, she had figured out.

"Yes, sir."

"Sir? Sir is my father… I'm just Phillipe… and you're more than welcome to call me that…if I can call you Charlotte."

"Of course, sir."

"Leave her alone, little brother!" came another voice from behind him and they both turned to see an equally as tall, fair haired and blue eyed young man aged around twenty five strode towards them.

"What? I'm not doing anything!" the younger prince protested and the older brother- clearly His Royal Highness Prince Pierre Gerard Andre Renaldi, the Crown Prince of Genovia- only rolled his eyes.

"Yes, it look like it… Good afternoon, Miss Kutaway, forgive my brother for his manners. As you can tell, college hasn't done much for his manners," he proffered a hand to her and Charlotte, a little overwhelmed at meeting both princes at the same time, took his hand silently.

"Good afternoon," she finally said, gathering her thoughts together. "I'm very pleased to meet you both but…" she glanced at her watch. "I need to excuse myself- I have some paperwork that I need to finish this afternoon."

"But…" Prince Phillipe protested and Prince Pierre nodded understandingly and stood aside, pulling his brother along with him.

"Of course, we're not going to keep you from that… it was very nice to meet you and I hope that you will enjoy your time here."

"Thank you," Charlotte murmured before walking past both of them and walking, head high, back to her desk, having the strange sense that she was being watched.

00000

The next year seemed to fly by in moments- Charlotte was gradually given more and more work to do, and while she still didn't have very much to do with Her Majesty, she was getting more involved with the life of the palace and she had already made some good friends, including Joseph's second in command, Scott Turner (or, as everyone else called him, 'Shades') and while he had shown signs of being interested in her as more than 'friends', Charlotte firmly but gently suggested that they would just remain friends.

"One day, though…." Shades teased one day but he knew that she was dedicated to her work and that would come first for her.

After finally finding her feet in regards to palace life, she had the opportunity to look around and observe the world around her- a world that she hadn't imagined being a part of until she had got the job, and she had to admit that she had made some quite interesting observations.

After her initial meeting with His Majesty, she hadn't had many dealings with him but, when she had attended state dinners and balls (as Jane's assistant, and there had only been three in the year she had been there), she noted that he flirted with many of the younger women present and, if there weren't any present, he flirted with the wives of the members of parliament who, to her astonishment, didn't seem to mind in the slightest- in fact, she had noted that there was open encouragement from husbands to wives.

Her Majesty, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her- she was obviously aware of the situation but there was nothing she could do about it and instead chose to take the high moral ground and main a dignified silence, although Charlotte suspected that it couldn't have been easy for her.

She was surprisingly pleased to see that Joseph was usually around her most of the time, ensuring that no one jostled her or stepped to close to her or said inappropriate things- but, then again, it was his job to protect the Queen and if that involved keeping men away from her, then so be it.

Joseph was always unfailingly courteous to her, and she sensed that she could trust him, but she had no interest in him as anything more than a friend- she was here for her career.

The young princes came and went from the palace during the school terms and Charlotte liked both of them, although she knew that there was a firm boundary between them becoming friends- she was only the Queen's diplomatic assistant, and they were the royal family.

Pierre, she had discovered, was much more serious than his younger brother but they both had qualities that she appreciated and liked- and they were both friendly with her, although Phillipe had initially tried flirting with her but that had stopped as he focused on his royal duties, although he was looking, she had overheard him mention to Joseph (or Joe, as most people called him) and Charlotte had realised that the older bodyguard was something of a surrogate father to the princes, although there had been nothing said or done, it was just the way she sensed it through the interactions the three men had.

All in all, she was quite happy in her position- Jane Kent had slowly thawed towards her, finally realising that Charlotte had no intention of usurping her position- and she was finding the work challenging and fulfilling, still having quite a lot to do with her former boss and former colleagues and she was hoping to continue in the post for many years to come… but then came an explosion that rocked the palace to its knees and while she was on the outer fringes, she was also a witness to what happened and the situation between the players….

000

"HE HAS A DAUGHTER?" She could hear the roar of the King's voice from his study all the way down to her desk at the opposite end of the hallway. "HOW CAN THAT BE?"

It was common knowledge that Prince Phillipe had been married to an American whilst in college but the marriage had ended two or three years ago- long before Charlotte had been employed at the palace, but she had heard the story through the diplomatic corps and she had also heard that the King and Queen had forced them to divorce- the said girl had been deemed 'unsuitable' to be a member of the royal family.

The prince had acquiesced to their request and had returned to the palace, but there had been no mention of a child born of the union, until now… the press had dug up the story and the Prince had had to admit that there had been a child born, a little girl who was now three years old, but he and his ex-wife had promised each other that she would not know anything about her royal heritage until she was much older… unfortunately, their agreement hadn't gone to plan…

The prince had been summoned to the King's study half an hour ago and while the King had shouted at his son, it was nothing compared to the roaring he was aiming at his wife, who he had summoned just ten minutes earlier and she had left her study, looking drawn and worried.

"DID YOU KNOW?" he roared again and there was the sound of silence as Charlotte assumed that Her Majesty was explaining the situation to him, and she was also glad that she couldn't hear any more shouting.

Jane was sitting at her desk, looking at her computer screen but Charlotte knew that she wasn't really working.

"How could this have happened?" she murmured to herself. "I… I'm sure…"

"The press do their own digging," Charlotte said matter of factly and Jane turned towards her. "They're always looking for scandal in regards to the royal family."

"But… the prince… how could he have lied to his parents? How could he have lied to his mother?" the older woman looked distressed and Charlotte realised that the older woman cared for the queen far more than she had realised and had given her credit for.

"I don't know about that…." she began slowly- even she found it difficult to understand why the prince had lied to his parents about his daughter… but, then again, she couldn't imagine being married to a member of the royal family and being told she wasn't good enough to be a member… so she could understand the ex-wife wanting to keep their child safe and unaware of her heritage until she was old enough to understand.

"Neither do I…." but she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway, coming closer and closer to their office and seconds later, Her Majesty stepped into the room, looking even more distressed than earlier.

"Your Majesty…" both women stood up- although Her Majesty had told them (or she had told Jane who had told Charlotte) that it wasn't necessary- but she only brushed past them, her head lowered. When she reached the door of her study, she turned towards Jane:

"Jane, please cancel the rest of my appointments for today and Charlotte…" she looked towards the younger woman and Charlotte's heart ached at the sadness in her eyes. "Could you please call the security hub and send Joseph to me… we're going to have to make additional arrangements for Phillipe's security for the time being."

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte sat down quickly and reached for the phone as the study doors closed quietly behind the Queen- if she could make this time easier for Her Majesty, she was going to do what she could… for a brief moment, her job was more than a job...


	3. Promotion

The next few years seemed to fly by and Charlotte was still very much enjoying her job and settling well into the palace while her responsibilities continued to increase. She was still Her Majesty's 'link' to the diplomatic corps (and still keeping in contact with her colleagues) but she was moving further away from the diplomatic corps as such and becoming more involved in the culture of the palace.

Jane Kent retired about six years after she had started, and while Charlotte had been expecting to be involved in the interview process to replace her, she was surprised to discover that she herself had been promoted to Her Majesty's personal assistant, as well as continuing the rest of her other work.

"You seem surprised," Joseph commented one lunchtime after Charlotte had been informed of her new title and she had signed her new contract.

"Of course I am! I didn't expect this promotion," Charlotte admitted with a slight blush.

"Why not? You're more than capable of filling the position, and you have to admit that you have been doing more and more of the work over the years."

"Still… I'm much younger than His Majesty's personal assistant…."

"Are you questioning Her Majesty's decision?"

"No, not… not exactly…. But…."

"Just take it as the compliment it is meant to be- Her Majesty knows what she is doing and she has been watching you over the past few years…"

"Really?"

"Really," Joseph grinned- Charlotte was a genuinely nice young woman and she was definitely more than capable of fulfilling both positions, but he was more than a little surprised by her surprise at her promotion- she was obviously more modest than he had expected, but it only confirmed his belief that she should be working with the Queen, the Queen needed someone like her, as he had mentioned to Her Majesty when she had asked his opinion about Charlotte…

" _I was thinking of promoting Ms Kutaway rather than advertising for the position… what do you think?"_

" _I think it's a terrific idea- Charlotte is a very hard worker and she had done well, even despite Miss Kent."  
_

 _"Miss Kent?" the Queen looked confused._

" _Yes, Miss Kent," he said firmly and the Queen's expression lightened and she was fighting to hide a smile- she knew that he didn't like her personal assistant, and she had to admit that there were times when she found her overbearing, but she had done an excellent job over the years and she knew that she couldn't have done without her._

" _Well, that's not being very kind, Joseph," she chided him gently, but with a twinkle in her eyes. "She has been an excellent assistant over the years…"  
_

 _"But Charlotte will do a much better job," he said firmly._

" _Then, it's decided. Ms Kutaway will be my personal assistant as well as continuing to be my liaison with the diplomatic corps."_

"So, are you looking forward to your new job? I hear there's a considerable pay rise," he teased gently and Charlotte couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"Yes, the pay rise is very appealing," she joked back at him and Joseph laughed. "However, it helps that I enjoy the job as well. Do you know whether she's going to replace my position?"

"I wouldn't think so, she seemed to feel that you would be more than capable of handling both roles… as do I."

"Really?" Charlotte was surprised but she couldn't help but feel flattered that Her Majesty had so much confidence in her.

"Really," Joseph affirmed. "She really does trust you and is certain that you will be able handle it."

000

Charlotte hadn't spent very much time in Her Majesty's study prior to her promotion- Jane had been her personal assistant so it made sense for her to have more access to Her Majesty- but the moment she moved desks (and her own desk was removed, confirming Joseph's words that she was going to be handling both roles), she discovered that she was much closer to the study and that she was constantly in and out of the study.

The first time Her Majesty had called her into her study, Charlotte couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as she stepped into the room with her notebook and pen and walked over to the desk to where the Queen was sitting, absorbed in a pile of papers that were scattered all over her desk.

As she did so, Charlotte couldn't help but admire the study around her- while she had only stepped in His Majesty's study only once before, this was so much more different to his- while his clearly belonged to a man, with wooden furniture and painted in dark, mahogany colours, the walls decorated with stuffed animal heads, several wall to wall book shelves, a bar in one corner, a fireplace and one or two paintings on the walls, Her Majesty's was much different, much softer. The room was painted in softer, pastel colours, the desk situated in the middle of the room, an antique sofa and two chairs as well as a coffee table, wall to wall book shelves and paintings on the walls as well as flowers in several vases scattered around the room and while His Majesty's curtains were usually only half opened, hers were fully opened and the large French window was half opened, making the room even lighter than ever.

"You called me, Your Majesty?" she asked when she was finally standing in front of the desk and after a moment, Her Majesty looked up and Charlotte was again struck by how blue her eyes were and how smooth her complexion was- she looked far younger than her late forties or early fifties.

"Yes, yes I did… Charlotte… is it alright if I call you Charlotte?

"Of course, Your Majesty," Charlotte was slightly surprised that the Queen was asking permission to call her by her first name, she assumed that it was naturally understood that Her Majesty could call her that as well…

"Charlotte… I wanted to know whether you feel comfortable enough to do both Jane's job as well as your own. There will be a lot of work involved."

"Of course I will, Your Majesty."

"And you will let me know if you have any problems?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Alright, then, if you will take a seat," she indicated the chair Charlotte was standing next to. "There's quite a lot that we need to do today…."

00000

The months flew by after her promotion and while Charlotte was flat out at work- she knew that it wouldn't be easy, doing two jobs rolled into one, but she had to admit that she was enjoying it and she was constantly being challenged and nothing was ever the same. Because she was now working much closer with Her Majesty, she was getting to know the woman behind the crown and Charlotte found that she not only respected her but she was liking her as well.

She possessed a quiet, shy, almost retiring nature, Charlotte could see that but when she was in public, or in meetings with others, Charlotte couldn't tell that she was shy, she was eloquent and confident, cool and in control, but when she was in her study, she let her guard down a little- only a little, because whenever her husband visited her (or, more often than not, she was 'summoned' to his study), he tended to speak over her and preferred not to listen to her.

There had been constant rumours about their marriage (even Charlotte had heard them when she was still working at the Attaché corps) but there was even more rumours around the palace and she couldn't help but over hear some of the palace staff gossiping about the 'latest incident' involving the King and a woman….

" _Apparently they were caught in a compromising position at the State Dinner…"  
_

 _"….In his study…."  
_

 _"Her Majesty was still in the ballroom…."  
_

 _"….Caught by his Head of Security…."  
_

 _"…smuggled out the back way…."_

"… _.Still going on…."  
_

 _"How can Her Majesty remain so oblivious to what's going on?"  
_

 _"Well, she must enjoy the life of being the Queen… the power, the trips, the glamour…"_

" _Yeah, that sounds just about right…" and the two men laughed conspiratorially as they walked away and Charlotte, who had been looking for a book in the library, slowly made her way out of the library._

Joseph scowled angrily when Charlotte informed him of the rumours going around the palace- it was true, of course, and the press had had extensive coverage in the papers and in the daily talk show- but it wasn't necessary for it to be discussed around the palace, Joseph said angrily and he was clearly furious about the conversation that Charlotte had overheard.

"Honestly, these people have better things to do than gossip about the King," he paced the security hub, the room having emptied earlier and Charlotte having felt she had to tell someone about what she had heard. She hadn't wanted to speak to the people in question (it was two male members of staff, who worked closely with His Majesty, and she knew that his staff didn't view Her Majesty's staff with much affection, creating more tension within the palace, although Charlotte tried to get alone with everyone) but she had wanted Joseph to know, just in case…

"I'm sorry, I just thought you would want to know."

"Thank you, Charlotte," he stopped pacing to smile gratefully at her. "I know that you wouldn't be condoning the talk yourself, and I'm glad that you told me."

"What are you going to do?"

"There's not a whole lot I can do," he shrugged, looking irritated. "I'll mention it to Tom, but I'm sure that there's nothing he can do either… not that he will do anything."

"So… what can we do?"

"Just make sure that Her Majesty is alright…" before he stopped pacing again to look at Charlotte seriously. "Is she alright? I assume she would have seen the papers this morning."

"She seems to be alright," Charlotte shrugged. "A little quiet and a little drawn, but she was more interested in getting the work done this morning."

It was true, she had been quieter than usual and hadn't met Charlotte's eyes as often as she would normally, but the façade that she had obviously crafted over the years was still in place, although Charlotte could see the pain in her eyes.

However, Joseph's demeanour was something else altogether- of course, as her Head of Security, he would be worried about his Queen and her manner but… Charlotte sensed that there was something more than professional concern in his expression. She looked at him closely, wondering what it was that she had seen in his eyes just before and then it suddenly struck her… she had seen tenderness in his eyes, it was almost as if he cared about the Queen more than a bodyguard and her Head of Security.

 _Could it be?_ Charlotte wondered to herself as she rose from the table- her lunch break was almost up and she knew that there were letters that she had to type that afternoon- and Joseph paused to look at her again.

"Thanks again, Charlotte, for telling me what's going on."

"No problems," she said lightly before leaving the room, her mind still wondering: _could it really be true and, if it was, was there anything she could do? Was it even possible for anything to happen?_

But, then again, Charlotte's more pragmatic side argued, even if there was something on Joseph's side, it didn't necessarily mean that there was anything on Her Majesty's side… she was married to the King of Genovia, a mother of two sons and Queen in her own right…His Majesty might not treat his marital vows with as much respect, but Charlotte knew, in the little time that she had worked so closely with Her Majesty, that the Queen took her marriage vows seriously and that she would never consider having an outside affair with anyone…

It was a pity, though, Charlotte thought as she stepped into her office and headed towards her desk- Joseph was such a nice guy, so nice, intelligent and courteous and handsome (not that she thought of him in that way at all), he would make a good boyfriend/husband to any woman… but… was he married? She had never dared to ask him the question, knowing that it was too personal a question, but if he wasn't….

 _Don't be stupid, Charlotte,_ she told herself sternly as she sat at her desk and waited for her computer to warm up. _You're just being silly and romantic, trying to match make with every person…Joseph and Her Majesty…._ she shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts. _That was just ridiculous, just ridiculous…_


	4. Abdication

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Charlotte looked around the security hub in genuine surprise, taken aback at the people present but also surprised that these people had taken the time to be present to celebrate her birthday, and it wasn't even a milestone birthday! It was just after dinner and she was about to leave for the night, but Joseph had insisted on her stepping into the security hub, as he had something important to discuss with her in regards to Her Majesty's schedule for the following day.

"You seem a little surprised," Joseph said as he stepped forward once the cheering and clapping had ceased and Charlotte only smiled sheepishly.

"I wasn't exactly expecting this… not that I don't appreciate it," she added hastily as she looked around at the people present- Joseph, Scott, His Royal Highness Prince Phillipe, some of the security team, Her Majesty's personal maids, Mrs Cowt (the housekeeper) and two staff from the kitchen- and noticed that they were surrounding a table with a large pink coloured cake ("courtesy of the chefs from the kitchen," one of the palace staff said quickly when she set eyes on it) as well as a small pile of gifts next to it. "I just thought…."

"I know it seems that we don't celebrate birthdays around here," Joseph continued with a grin. "Or not the milestone birthdays, anyway, but their Royal Highnesses," he waved towards Prince Phillipe standing behind him. "Insisted."

"Really?" Charlotte looked at him in curiosity and Prince Phillipe grinned.

"Really," he affirmed. "Actually, it was my brother's suggestion- and he makes his apologies as he had to accompany Father to a session of my parliament- but I was more than happy to get everything organised….and our Mother also wished for this to occur."

"Her Majesty….?" Charlotte was speechless and Phillipe nodded.

"Indeed- and she too has passed on her apologies…."

"She too had to go to parliament, I know."

"But she did want us to have this… you have become a very valuable member of the palace staff and we all wished to show you our appreciation for you."

"Stop it," Charlotte blushed, not wishing to cause any resentment with the other members of staff, as she said to Joseph a little later when the party had dispersed and Joseph was walking her out to her waiting car.

"Nonsense, no one could or would resent you. Her Majesty highly regards you, as do the young princes and most of the staff and I think was a fantastic idea on Prince Pierre's behalf."

"But…"

"No arguments, Charlotte," he turned to look at her mock sternly. "You need to stop feeling so insecure about your position here- you are a terrific young woman who does her job well and tonight was just a sign of our appreciation."

"Thank you," Charlotte blushed again- it was hard to believe that people thought well of her, but she had to appreciate the gesture- and she did.

"Happy birthday Charlotte," Joseph said suddenly, lifting one of her hands up to his lips, kissing it lightly. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," he said before he turned and walked back up towards the palace.

000

Six months later, however, there was another major scandal, one which not only threatened the marriage of their Majesties but also the future of the Renaldi claim to the throne- Prince Pierre Renaldi decided to abdicate and dedicate the rest of his life to the church.

There had been rumours for several years, particularly since he had returned from college and had started his own royal responsibilities, but there had been murmurs that the young Prince wasn't showing much interest in his duties and tried to avoid attending parliament when he could, and while the King had shown a remarkable amount of tolerance in the beginning, arguing that the 'boy needs a little time to settle back into Genovia and living back at the palace' but in the past year or so, he had been showing more and more impatience towards his eldest son, which had often produced tension between the King and Queen, not that Charlotte knew anything of what was going on between husband and wife but she could sense it in their interactions and the often heated arguments that she had heard through closed doors.

She _could_ have asked Joseph about it, seeing that he spent almost, if not more, time with the Queen as she did, but…Charlotte had the feeling that the subject was one that could not be approached by her… or anyone.

Scott was ever on the prowl for gossip, and while he often had titbits that she hadn't heard (and she usually heard most things from the Queen's maids, although she never passed it on, much to Scott's chagrin), she was firmly insistent that she knew nothing about Joseph and Her Majesty… not that there was anything to discuss, she thought.

"Oh come on, Charlotte! You work closely with Her Majesty and you and Joe are friends…" Shades argued as he sat on the edge of Charlotte's desk- Joseph had sent him with paperwork that Charlotte needed to peruse and then he couldn't resist stopping for a chat.

"We're colleagues," she corrected him, although it was true- they were friends, she felt comfortable with him (although not enough to ask any questions about Her Majesty) and knew that, from the beginning, he had kept an eye on her.

"Friends, and you know I'm right," he countered.

"So what?"

"I'm just saying… you work closely with both of them… surely you have observed something between them…."

"Scott! Her Majesty is married!"

"Hasn't stopped His Majesty, has it?"

"Scott," Charlotte stopped and frowned at him severely. "That's not fair and I'm not going to sit here and listen to any more of your slanderous gossip. Thank you for the paperwork and let Joseph know I'll have it back to him by the end of the day."

However, she had heard continuing gossip about the relationship of Her Majesty and her husband and while Charlotte tried to discourage it by pretending not to listen, or to gently chiding whoever was passing on the information ( _"that's not true and neither of their Majesties would appreciate gossip being spread around the palace about them"_ ) and it desisted for a time, there were still constant rumours continuing to bubble under the surface- and she had to admit that His Majesty's behaviour wasn't helping him in the slightest… not that she was judging… not that Charlotte couldn't admit that she was on Her Majesty's side, and not just because she was working for her… it was also because she _liked and respected her._

But all of that paled into significance upon the morning of Prince Pierre's announcement of his abdication, although the palace had been a cesspool of tension, anger and hatred for weeks beforehand as the prince struggled with his decision and the King, not at all pleased at his eldest son's indecision (in fact he was icily furious), stormed around the palace, shouting at everyone he came into contact with, but saving his real anger for his wife, clearly blaming her for Pierre changing his mind about his future role.

"How can the Crown Prince of Genovia decide that he wants to give up the one role that he was groomed for since his birth for the…. _church_?" he was heard to mutter on more than one occasion, but it was clear that he blamed his wife for their son's decision, something that Charlotte found incredibly unfair.

Unfortunately, his attitude spilled over towards the people working around him and their attitudes coloured their interactions with the members of Her Majesty's team.

" _I don't know how you could work for a woman who encourages her son, the future of Genovia, to abdicate for the church?" came one such snide remark from His Majesty's personal assistant, and while it angered Charlotte, she remained calm._

" _I work for Her Majesty because she is the Queen of our country, a lady I like and respect and nothing you will do or say will change my opinion of her."_

 _"You don't know what you're talking about, you're just an assistant to a Consort Queen…"_ he sniffed before stalking out of the room, colliding with Joseph entering the room.

"Hello Joe," Charlotte said with a warm smile- they had long since agreed to call each other 'Joe' and 'Charlotte' which had helped their developing relationship.

"What did Anton the idiotic assistant want?" Joseph looked annoyed and Charlotte was surprised- he was usually good natured and returned the greeting with a responding smile.

"Just giving me some papers….you… didn't hear him, did you?"

"Yes, I just managed to… what a jerk!"

"You didn't hear what I said...?"

"I did and I truly appreciate what you said, as will Her Majesty."

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Charlotte suddenly sounded anxious. "She already has enough on her plate at the moment, I don't want to add anything more to her plate."

"You don't want her to know that you're being loyal to her and defending her to Anton the idiot?"

"No…she knows that I'm loyal to her- I hope- but I don't want her to know that there is ill will between the members of staff… please, Joe, don't tell her."

"Alright, I won't… but you're a good girl, Charlotte, and it's true- Her Majesty does appreciate your loyalty…and I appreciate your protectiveness, it's good that there are people who genuinely care about Her Majesty…" before he continued on his way across the study and gently knocked on the study door, entering when bidden, Her Majesty's voice a muffled sound.

0

"What were you and Charlotte talking about?" Her Majesty inquired moments later as Joseph sank into the chair opposite her desk, as she took off her glasses and sank back in her chair.

"Nothing in particular."

"I also heard something about 'Anton the idiot'… what was that about?"

"Oh, Anton was just being difficult with Charlotte that was all. He can be quite sexist and chauvinistic… as you very well know… hence he works very well with His Majesty."

"Joseph," she looked at him gently but with a sad expression on her face. "I know my staff and Rupert's staff aren't on the best of terms."

"Nonsense, Rupert is just…."

"Joseph." It was only one word but Joseph knew that from the expression on her face and tone of her voice that Her Majesty meant business- and while he had promised Charlotte that he wouldn't say a word, he also couldn't fight the sad big blue eyes on the opposite of the desk.

"Yes, Anton was being silly… but Charlotte stood up to him and told him off for his disloyalty to you."

"She did?" Her Majesty looked touched, but not surprised- she knew that Charlotte was unquestionably loyal and she was happy that she had Charlotte on her side, not to mention the fact that she liked and respected the younger woman.

"She did… she's very protective of you."

"Really?"

"Really- she really likes and respects you… that's what she told Anton… but she didn't want me to say anything to you."

"Why on earth not?"

"She felt that you already had enough to worry about without knowing about problems between staff."

"That's very thoughtful of her," Clarisse said softly, looking away for a moment and blinking hard, Joseph sitting in his chair patiently until she had pulled herself together- he knew that she didn't like showing vulnerability too much, until she looked back at him. "I won't let her know that you said anything to her… but thank you, Joseph," and they exchanged a warm look before Joseph decided to break the silence and the look- things were too intense at the palace at the moment to even consider what was occurring between them.

"How are things?" he asked gently and she looked away for a moment before looking back at him, her expression tired and drawn.

"As you would expect… the announcement will be going ahead as planned…." _  
_

0

On the morning of the announcement, Charlotte had been at the palace since five in the morning (she had been doing a lot of overtime in the last few weeks, since the Prince had decided to abdicate, not that she didn't mind), making last minute preparations for the press conference that, simultaneously occurring with the announcement, would confirm that Prince Pierre Renaldi was abdicating and his younger brother would become Crown Prince. There wasn't a great deal left to do, but she liked being ready and prepared- it was going to be a long and difficult day for the royal family and she wanted to ensure that she was there for them… specifically, Her Majesty.

"Good morning, Charlotte, you're up and about early," she heard a voice from the doorway and she turned to see a tired looking Prince Pierre standing there, already dressed.

"Your Royal Highness…" she began to curtsey but he held up a hand.

"Please, Charlotte, you don't have to do that anymore. I signed the necessary paperwork last night, so I'm technically not a Prince of Genovia anymore."

"But you will always be a royal prince, no matter what you say or do," Charlotte said softly and Prince Pierre smiled at her wryly.

"Thank you, Charlotte."

"Is there anything I can do for you… Prince Pierre?"

"Aside from calling me Pierre from now on?"

"I don't think that would be appropriate."

"I think so, and I would appreciate it if you did so, not that I will be here for much longer." He looked so sad and so weary that Charlotte's heart went out to him and she knew that she couldn't deny him his simple request.

"Alright… Pierre. Why won't you be here for very long?"

"As soon as the press conference is over, I'll be leaving for the airport- I am starting theology college in Scotland on Monday…."

"Is it true…" she began but stopped- she couldn't ask the question, it was inappropriate.

"Is it true….what?" Pierre looked puzzled.

"Nothing."

"Is it true… that my father has banished me from Genovia?"

"Y-yes…." She stammered- _blasted maids, she shouldn't have listened to them_ \- but he gave her a small smile.

"Not officially, but he's made it clear that I won't be welcome for a long time to come."

"That's awful!" Charlotte frowned, disgusted at the attitude of the King.

"That's my father," he said with a slightly bitter smile. "I've long since accepted his attitude… and, speaking of my father, I have a favour to ask of you."

"Oh?"

"Not in regards to my father, but my mother."

"Oh?"

"Could you please look after her?"

"Look…after her?"  
"Yes, look after her… we both know my father will be difficult on her for the next few months and Phillipe will be busy with his new duties… and I know that you care about her…"

"I… I don't know what to say…."

"Please, Charlotte?" he moved closer to her and reached out to take her hand for a moment. "She may seem strong and capable, but she's also vulnerable….and I know that you and Joe, as well as her maids, will look after her… will you, Charlotte?"

"I will," she vowed, looking up into his intense blue eyes, so much like his mother's and knew that she would do what she could to look after her.

000

As Charlotte had expected, the day was intense and chaotic- the press went wild with the statement and the press conference, peppering the Prince with questions, but all too soon he was being spirited away to the airport and the atmosphere in the palace settled down… somewhat, although Charlotte, who had been present at the press conference, had seen the look of anger and hatred that the King had shot at the Queen.

"That was intense," Prince Phillipe said afterwards when he came into Charlotte's office- the Queen had locked herself away in her study after the press conference and His Majesty had disappeared who knows where, while the palace staff tried to pretend that it was still a normal day in the palace.

"Indeed it was," Charlotte agreed- there was paperwork that had to be perused and filed but she had the feeling that Her Majesty wouldn't be in the mood to do anything, and Joseph had informed her that she could go home early, but she felt that she should stay, just in case.

"I can't imagine not having my brother here at the palace," Prince Phillipe sank down into the chair opposite hers and Charlotte suddenly realised that the vulnerable young man wanted to talk.

"That will be difficult."

"I didn't want to be Crown Prince," he ran a hand through his dark hair. "It was never part of my plan."

"What was your plan?" Charlotte asked gently, hoping that she wasn't intruding into his life but it was clear that he wanted to talk.

"I was thinking of joining the army, maybe doing a little more further education… I had some ideas to start a charity or foundation… but that's all gone down the hill," he buried his head in his hands and Charlotte was momentarily frozen between not doing anything and comforting him- he was obviously upset- but before she could do anything, he lifted his head up again. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, I shouldn't be saying anything like this to you…"

"It's alright, I don't mind… and as for your plans, I don't think you should give them up… they may not happen now, but they could happen eventually, and I would more than happy to help with your ideas for building a charity."

"Thank you, Charlotte," he suddenly grinned at her and Charlotte was momentarily taken aback by his wide and charming smile, but she knew that she only liked him as a friend (if it was possible to consider him a friend, but he obviously did) before the sound of the study doors opened and out stepped Her Majesty, her posture still as straight and as formal as ever but her expression was tired and weary, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Phillipe! Charlotte! I didn't expect to see either of you here!" she said in surprise as the younger two stood up from their chairs.

"I just dropped by to see if you wanted to go for a walk around the garden, Maman," said Phillipe.

"I just wanted to stay and see if you needed anything," Charlotte offered as Her Majesty walked towards them and took Phillipe's arm in his, caressing his cheek with one hand for a moment.

"You're both very thoughtful… Phillipe, yes, I would love to go for a walk; and Charlotte… please go home. You've done quite enough for today."

"Yes ma'am," Charlottes said politely as mother and son made their way towards the office door before Her Majesty stopped and turned back to Charlotte.

"Charlotte."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I just wanted to thank you for your loyalty, hard work, consideration and compassion today, and for the past few weeks- it's been a difficult time for all of us but I do appreciate everything you have done… thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Your Majesty," Charlotte said softly and, as mother and son left the room, she realised that she had been telling the truth- _it had been hard work, but it HAD been a pleasure._


	5. Goodbyes (Part One)

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- the romance is coming, it is!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

The abdication caused shock waves throughout the country, with most of parliament (all of whom were cronies of Rupert's and, as Charlotte had discovered through limited interactions with some of them, viewed women, Her Majesty, in particular, as less intelligent then men) shouting down the Prime Minister in sessions of parliament in regards to the abdication, giving interviews to the press and generally showing their disapproval in more subtle ways- but they did stoke the fires of the press, who spent weeks reliving and re-publishing the events of the abdication.

They even went so far as to try and locate the Prince himself, although they didn't succeed- and the King had reluctantly released a statement requesting privacy for ' _His Royal Highness' at this time in his life"_ although Charlotte knew that it was only released when Pierre's younger brother had beseeched his father to protect his son.

"He's no son of mine!" the King retorted as he strode through Charlotte's office, heading back to his own after discussing the situation with Her Majesty- (although Charlotte could hear shouting through the closed doors and she forced herself to focus on the letters she was perusing for Her Majesty)- the new Crown Prince hot on his heels.

"Come on, Father, he is still your son, no matter what and he deserves to be protected by the palace."

"HA!" The King spun around on his heel to glare at his younger son while Charlotte tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible. "He should have thought of that BEFORE he decided to betray his family and his country!"

"Father, please," the younger prince beseeched, starting to look irritated. "You HAVE to do this, not only for the sake of Pierre but for the sake of the throne- if people were to see that you didn't support your son…."

"Which I don't."

"That's your private opinion, but for the people and for the sake of the crown, you need to publicly support him… and the members of parliament aren't helping the situation, they're all just fussy old men who don't know what they're talking about."

"Watch it, boy," the King stepped closer to his tall son and pointed a finger into his face (and Charlotte was interested to discover that the younger man was taller than his father, and much better looking, not that she was looking at either of them in that way). "Those men are my friends and they help me run the country- and one day, you will have to work with them too… don't you DARE criticise them!"

"I wasn't criticising them or you, I was just stating the truth," Prince Phillipe was still as calm as ever while his father was starting to turn red in the face. "So, will you do it? For Mother? For me… and for your country?"

There was a long silence as the older man glared at his son- the younger man's face pleasantly neutral- before he let out a sigh.

"Fine. It's done… but don't expect me to do anything more for Pierre… he's gone and that's it!" before the older man stalked out of the room and Prince Phillipe turned to Charlotte with a pleasant smile.

"I'm very sorry for that little outburst, Father is still obviously a little upset at the turn of events."

"It's fine, Your Highness, I didn't hear anything."

"Sure you didn't," Phillipe said teasingly and Charlotte allowed herself a small smile.

"Alright, I may have heard a few words but I can promise you that it won't go past this office."

"Thank you, Charlotte," he suddenly looked sober and Charlotte suddenly felt sorry for him- everyone had been focused on Pierre and what he had done to the country, but no one had seriously considered what the effects would have been on the younger brother, the brother who hadn't expected to be Crown Prince but was suddenly the future King of Genovia. He had already given up his daughter and his wife, and now he was the Crown Prince… she had to wonder what was going through his head, what he was thinking, how he was feeling.

"Is… is there anything I can do for you, Your Highness?"

"No, but thank you for the kind offer, Charlotte. You truly have been a great influence in the palace since you arrived!"

"I'm just happy to be here to do my job," she finished simply.

"Well, you are and you're doing it very well…" the prince trailed off as he glanced at his watch. "Well, I had better go, I'm due in a session of parliament very soon and I don't think my father will appreciate me keeping him waiting… See you later, Charlotte," he gave her another smile and a wave before leaving the office.

000

It took at least 2 months before the country finally accepted that Prince Pierre had abdicated and left the country to pursue theology studies (and NOT, as one newspaper story had been, to get married) and that Prince Phillipe was now the Crown Prince, and Charlotte was a little relieved to have some slow news days so that she could catch up on the constant paperwork that travelled from the Queen's desk to her own (or from the King's desk to the Queens to her own)- she still loved her job, she respected and liked her Queen and most of the palace staff, particularly Joseph and Scott, but she was hoping for a little normalcy, at least for a little while.

However, Pierre's abdication heralded the start of a dark period in the life of the royal family, starting with another scandal involving Rupert and another woman, although this time, it was more half-hearted and less publicised as the King was beginning to suffer some serious health problems, starting with a mild heart attack the spring after Pierre's abdication and leading to several, more serious ones and leading to a diagnosis of cancer two months after that. Because of his ill health, the King had had to cancel many of his meetings and duties or transferring responsibilities to the Queen and Prince Phillipe who, despite the whispers from some of the doubters that didn't think he was suited to being Crown Prince, let along King, stepped up to the role splendidly.

Of course, with the King's illness, Charlotte's workload was doubled as Her Majesty dealt with all the necessary paperwork (hers as well as her husbands) and there was many a night when she found herself seated in Her Majesty's study, writing up notes and assisting Her Majesty with her paperwork.

It was during this time that she really got to know Her Majesty and while she had suspected that she was a kind and warm person, although rather shy and formal, she discovered that she had a wonderful sense of humour as well- and was very interested in getting to know Charlotte even better.

"Have you enjoyed working here, Charlotte?" she suddenly asked one evening as they toiled over a trade negotiation that Her Majesty was due to present to parliament the following evening. They had paused to have a break and Her Majesty had invited Charlotte to have a cup of tea with her, something Charlotte had never done before but she found that while she felt a little awkward in the Queen's presence, Her Majesty quickly put her at ease.

"Yes, ma'am, I have really enjoyed working here. It's always so interesting and there's always something to do," Charlotte responded, well aware that her answer sounded awkward and almost idiotic.

"Charlotte," Her Majesty said gently, giving her a warm smile. "You can relax… it's not an examination, I was just interested in whether you were enjoying being here. I'm aware that there have been… tensions… over the years, which probably would have made for a stressful working environment but…"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I've always enjoyed working here."

"Are the staff pleasant to you?"

"Yes, they're all fairly pleasant."

"Except His Majesty's staff?" Her Majesty teased gently and Charlotte gave a start before shaking her head. "You can deny it all you wish, Charlotte, but I have other sources who tell me what goes on outside these doors and I understand that they have been rude and unpleasant to you."

"I can handle it," Charlotte said with a defiant look and Her Majesty chuckled.

"I have no doubt that you will." She paused for a moment and then turned serious. "I'm sure you're aware of His Majesty's ill health…."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well... while he is undergoing treatment, Prince Phillipe and I will be handling all of his duties and responsibilities… which means that there will be a heavier workload for you…"

"That's fine, Your Majesty, I'm more than happy to step up and help whenever I can."

"I know you can, Charlotte, you have proved that over and over again and I must say, again, that I appreciate your loyalty and dedication to me and the throne."

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty."

There was a pause as the two women shared an understanding look, knowing that they could trust and respect each other… and that they liked each other, before Her Majesty broke the look by looking away.

"Well, this work isn't going to get done… we'll be here till midnight if we don't get started."

00000

The King's health deteriorated rapidly over the ensuing months, with his public appearances ceasing completely once it became clear that he could not handle any more public appearances, and Her Majesty and Prince Phillipe completely took over his duties and responsibilities and, as Her Majesty had predicted, Charlotte's workload had increased double-fold.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Joseph asked one day and Charlotte laughed ruefully.

"Trust me, I can handle it… what about you? You're out and about more often now with Her Majesty."

"I'm used to it, having done it for quite a few years…not so much as when His Majesty was well and doing much of it, but still… I don't mind it… I just hope that Her Majesty will be able to cope…" he looked slightly concerned at the health of his Queen, and the concern on his face touched Charlotte- he really did care about his boss, not that she didn't care about her too, but it was different with him….

The King was mainly in his suite but Charlotte often spotted him walking slowly down the stairs, his Queen at his side, to go to the library or even to sit in his study and read, and she was always impressed to see that, despite the pain he had caused his wife over the years, that Her Majesty obviously still cared about him and that she had been wrong about their marriage...

Yes, it hadn't been the love match that most young women dreamed of, it had been difficult in many ways and Rupert was a difficult man to live with, but there was still some affection there, they were still friends and the parents of two sons and they had rule the country together… despite his faults, Rupert had believed in his wife (although he had never said so to her) enough to have her crowned Queen, not Queen Consort.

As his health deteriorated, the Queen and Crown Prince's public appearances were curtailed and they each visited the King several times a day, although his friends often kept more company with him than the Queen herself but she did go and see him several times a day.

It was a cool March evening and Charlotte was still working at her desk, when Joseph hurried into the room with an urgent expression on his face

"Charlotte?" he stood in front of her desk and she looked up curiously- Her Majesty had retired earlier, being tired, and she was just about to finish up and go home, but she was curious to see Joseph.

"Joe? What's wrong?"

"His Majesty has just passed away…Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were with him," Joseph said gravely.

"Oh… I'm so sorry," were the first words out of Charlotte's mouth, although it wasn't much of a surprise, it had been inevitable.

"I need you to contact the Prime Minister and the Attaché Corps with the news- Sebastian will want to come here- and could you begin preparing the necessary press statements so that they can be sent to the papers as soon as possible… Sebastian will peruse them and I will confirm them."

"How… how are they both?"

"Upset but resigned- they knew this was coming."

"Funeral arrangements….?"

"There is a plan for His Majesty, he prepared for this years ago, and I'm sure that Sebastian knows where it is in his study… but we'll think about that tomorrow… I'm afraid you may not get much sleep tonight, Charlotte," he sounded regretful but Charlotte was quick to shake her head.

"That doesn't matter, I'll be here as long as I'm needed…."

"Good… I need to organise the security team, there's going to be a lot going on in the next few days…and I'll be back upstairs after that, if you need me…." Joseph was distracted but Charlotte couldn't blame him- the King was dead, the Queen was now ruling (or at least until the Prince was ready to ascend the throne) and there was a massive funeral to be planned- but Charlotte had the sense that his mind was not on what he had to do as the Head of Security, but rather, on the new widow, grieving upstairs.

0

As Charlotte expected, she didn't get a lot of sleep for the next few days, but considering the magnitude of what she had to do- assist in preparing and planning the funeral, contacting heads of states and diplomats who would want to attend the funeral, planning the wake as well as dealing with the press- she wasn't surprised and she found that she was able to everything as she expected.

She _was_ surprised to discover Her Majesty at her desk the following morning (she had slipped home to shower and change), clad in black and looking tired and sombre.

"Your Majesty…. Good morning," she was about to ask what she was doing there, but realised that it was an inappropriate question.

"Good morning, Charlotte," the Queen responded quietly, looking up from her desk- it was clear but she was staring blankly at the surface as if expected to see work waiting there for her.

"If I may say so, Your Majesty… I'm deeply sorry over the passing of His Majesty," Charlotte said solemnly and the Queen gave her a small smile.

"Thank you, my dear, it's greatly appreciated. I believe that you have everything under control?"

"Yes, ma'am- Prime Minister Motaz has returned to his home for breakfast but he will be here, along with the senior members of parliament to make…. Arrangements."

'I see… well, Rupert had his own plans in place, but I'm not quite sure where they are…."

"Prime Minister Motaz found them last night, we will be having a meeting later in the day… is there anything you need for me to do for you at the moment?"

"Honestly, Charlotte? No. I can't think of anything at the moment…"

"Clarisse!" came a voice from behind her and she turned to see Joseph hurrying into the room, stopping slightly when he saw Charlotte standing there but then continuing his walk. "I thought you were still upstairs….what are you doing down here?"

"I just wanted to see if there was anything to be done…" Her Majesty looked at her desk again, suddenly looking a little lost and suddenly Joseph was at her side, helping her up.

"I think you should go back upstairs and have breakfast… and I'll keep you informed of anything that goes on…. Charlotte will be my informant, wont' you?" he looked at her meaningfully and she nodded, still a little dumbfounded that Joseph had called the Queen by her first name, but as they had been working together, and closely, for a long time, it was to be expected.

"Alright," Her Majesty said with a heavy sigh, standing up and moving slowly around the desk, his hand still on the small of her back. "Thank you, Charlotte…" she added almost dazedly before walking slowly towards the door, Joseph at her side. He turned in the doorway to nod at Charlotte and she nodded back- his secret was safe with her… he cared about Her Majesty more than as a bodyguard…

 _He really, really cared about her…_


	6. Goodbyes (Part Two)

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me._

The King's funeral was a massive event, with at least two hundred and fifty guests attending, ranging from Genovian diplomats returning from different parts of the world to heads of states (or their representatives) as well as the entire parliament, Prime Minister and the wealthy of Genovia, as well as military representatives and some from charities, although it was well known that His Majesty didn't patronise too many charities, preferring to leave charity work to his wife.

Prince Pierre didn't return for the funeral, being deeply involved in his studies, but Charlotte couldn't fault him if he hadn't wanted to return, considering his father's attitude towards him post abdication.

The mourners were led by the Crown Prince and Her Majesty and the massive attendance at the funeral (which had been televised) as well as the streets of Pyrus being lined with sober and saddened people, watching the procession move from church to the family crypt at the cemetery, proved that, despite his attitude toward his eldest son and wife, the King had commanded enormous respect from his fellow countrymen and the rest of the world.

It had been a busy few days leading up to the wedding, and Charlotte had been busy preparing for the funeral with the office of the Prime Minister and the diplomatic attaché, as well as the wake afterwards, so busy that she hadn't had much opportunity to do her own work or communicate with the Queen (not that there was any work to do, Her Majesty had spent much of her time in her suite, or hosting the visitors that had been streaming into the country and the palace once the news had been released), but Charlotte was appalled to hear a rumour that parliament was planning on setting an emergency meeting of parliament, after the funeral, to settle the matter of who would be ruling Genovia in the wake of the King's death.

"Surely… surely Her Majesty should still remain on the throne, at least until His Royal Highness has had more time to get used to his new responsibilities…" she finally dared to say to Sebastian Motaz (he had insisted that she call him Sebastian, almost right from the beginning of her time at the palace) the day before the funeral, when they were finalising details, and he frowned.

"I thought so too, but the men of parliament can be…well, they can be difficult, and that's a gentle way of putting it."

"So… what's going to happen at the meeting?"

"Hopefully, nothing. Hopefully it's only some of the trouble makers that were friends and cronies of His Majesty and it will settle down again…" but Charlotte could see by the expression on his face that he wasn't convinced that they were going to do what he hoped, before his expression brightened again.

"However, I do have the discretion to agree or disagree with decisions that parliament make…and I definitely do NOT agree with this, not at all."

"But doesn't issues that have a majority in the voting have to be carried?"

"Yes, that's correct, Charlotte, but I don't think that this certain group will have a majority to carry the motion forward."

She hadn't seen either the Queen or the Crown Prince's reactions when the emergency meeting had been called, but she knew that Joseph was furious, judging by the way he stormed around the palace in the lead up to the funeral.

Her Majesty, meanwhile, had dealt with the loss of her husband with strength and dignity- it had been a loss that had been expected and she had had time to process the news before it had occurred, but she would still be grieving long after the funeral and there was concern that the Crown Prince would try and take on too much to give his mother a break.

"He's a strong young man," said Charlotte's former boss at the wake, Charlotte hovering in the background while the guests mingled, many of them trying to get closer to Her Majesty (who was already surrounded) and talking amongst themselves. "He's kind, caring, compassionate and intelligent- just as much as his brother is- but he hasn't had the time to prepare for it as Crown Prince Pierre did and…. well, the pressure may be too much for him… not that I think that for a second," he said added hastily, seeing Charlotte give him a small frown.

"Other people aren't saying that, are they?" Charlotte asked in concern, with a twinge of protectiveness for the Crown Prince and the Queen. As the Queen's personal assistant, she was kept away from most of the rumours that swirled around about the royal family, but she also needed to know what was being said, so she could try and contain the situation, not that there was much she could do, except for the dry 'no comment' that was always released when the palace didn't want to release any information in regards to scandals and other issues.

"No, no, definitely not- believe me, the public are more than supportive for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, but in his own time… and the diplomatic attaché, as well as the heads of state and their representatives still consider the Queen the first choice for ruling the country… at least until the Crown Prince knows a little more of what he's going to do… but parliament… well, I won't say anything more on that except that I don't agree with what some of them trying to do and hopefully the Prime Minister will be able to quash the motion."

"I hope so too…"

The funeral and subsequent wake soon came to an end, and as the guests began to leave the palace and the country, to return to their own countries and lives, the life and atmosphere for the palace began to return to normal (or as normal as it could be for the royal family) as everyone accepted that the King has passed away…and with that came the realisation that things were different, the atmosphere was different… it was almost as if some of the tensions that had been part of the palace life for almost as long as some of the older staff members could remember had dissipated and…life could almost be positive and happy again….

Charlotte herself was relieved when the pressure eased- she happily handled the funeral and its associated preparations, but she was also looking forward to things going back to normal, and going back to her own duties.

Joseph, via Her Majesty, had offered her a couple of days off but Charlotte politely refused.

"You've done an awful lot of work in the past two weeks, Charlotte, Her Majesty appreciates what you have done and if you feel that you need a few days off to recover…."

"I'm fine, Joe," she said firmly but with a smile on her face. "There were a few very late nights but that was part of the job… I don't need any additional days off aside from my annual vacation… speaking of which," she added with a small, teasing smile. "When was your last annual vacation?"

"Never you mind," he responded with a responding smile. "Well, the offer is there if you want it."

"I appreciate it… and you can let Her Majesty know that I appreciate it, but I don't need the time off."

"Good. Just so you know."

"I do."

00000

The next few months were blissfully uneventful- well, not uneventful, but compared to the past few months and year or so, the months were 'normal'- and the palace finally returned to normal, with everyone returning to their normal tasks and responsibilities.

Her Majesty was still quiet and withdrawn, but she returned to work the day after the funeral and was soon buried back in her paperwork- more paperwork, actually, as she had taken on His Majesty's work as well, so Charlotte's workload was again doubled, but they hired a younger woman to be Charlotte's assistant, which helped with the work greatly, although Charlotte primarily dealt with Her Majesty.

She had not seen Joseph treat Her Majesty any differently to before she had witnessed that moment between them the day after the King passed away, but Charlotte suspected that there was more to their professional relationship than met the eye, not that it was any of her business and not that it was something that could be even considered at this point in time, it was inappropriate and almost…treasonous.

However, things finally settled down, and while Her Majesty and the Crown Prince celebrated a quiet Christmas and there was no New Year's Eve ball out of deference for the mourning period for the King, but by the spring, things were finally returning to normal and there was talk that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne that Christmas. The emergency meeting that parliament had insisted on in regards to forcing the Crown Prince to ascend the throne immediately after his father's death had never eventuated, much to everyone's relief and now, after some time and more experience, the Crown Prince was ready to ascend the throne.

"I still cannot imagine that I am going to be King… I never thought that it would be me," the Crown Prince admitted to Charlotte one day after he had escorted his mother back from a session of parliament. "When Pierre and I were growing up, it was always drilled into us that Pierre would be King and I would be his support… I suppose we could have coined the phrase the 'heir and the spare', if you really wanted to think about it."

"That's not a nice way to refer to yourself as," Charlotte said chidingly- over the years, they had become friends in a way, Phillipe continuing to insist on her calling him by his first name but she had never taken him up on his offer, much to his amusement, but no one else knew about their friendship, not even Joseph and especially not Her Majesty.

"Still, that's what royal families label the heir to the throne and second in line."

"Well, I don't like it."

"I can see that," Phillipe grinned at her through his well-trimmed beard. "Anyway," he continued as he glanced at his watch. "I have to get going, I have a meeting in Lybitt and I'm going to be late if I don't get a move on… I assume you'll still be at your desk by the time I get back tonight?" he teased and Charlotte chuckled.

"I might be… although if I get my work done, I may go home early."

"You, go home early? That's one miracle I want to see! See you later, Charlotte," before he strode out of the room, Charlotte still chuckling- he was quite a character and she liked him, although she would never consider thinking of him as any more than the Crown Prince, a friend and the future King of Genovia.

0

Storms had been forecast for that afternoon, and, as predicted, they arrived with gusto, the dark clouds darkening the rooms of the palace, forcing lights to be switched on earlier than normal, and the booming of the thunder overhead was the background noise as Charlotte and the palace staff went about their normal business.

"I hope the Crown Prince and his entourage will return safely this evening," Scott commented when he and Charlotte met up in the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a brief break. "It looks like that the rain is definitely settling in."

"Your men are all trained in defensive driving, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are- it's part of our contracts."

"So, I'm sure that everything will be fine and they'll be home safe and sound by seven thirty, as you said they would be."

As it turned out, Charlotte was just about finished her work around the time Phillipe and his entourage were due to return home, and she was just thinking about how awful it was going to be to have to go out into the rain (although Scott had assured her that her car would be parked as close to the front steps as it was possible) to drive home, the rain was actually getting even heavier as the evening wore on, when she heard movement in the doorway of her office and she looked up to see Joseph walking slowly into the room.

"Joe!" she began with a smile before it quickly disappeared as she saw the expression on Joseph's face, an expression she had never seen before… it was almost as if he had aged ten years in the past half an hour, and there was such agonizing emotion on his face, devastation mingled with regret, that she was suddenly frightened.

"Joe? What is it?"

"I need you to come with me into Her Majesty's study… there's something we have to tell her together."

"What is it, Joe?" Charlotte was growing increasingly alarmed at the tone of his voice and the expression on his face.

"It's the Crown Prince… there was an accident on the way back from Lybitt… the roads were very, very slippery…." Joseph almost recited the words and Charlotte suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"And….?"

"The Crown Prince was killed at the scene, along with two of his men… the rest of the group are fine and are being transported to hospital as we speak."

"Oh… my…." Charlotte couldn't help but utter, her knees buckling slightly under her weight and she had to grab onto the edge of the table to prevent herself from collapsing. Could it really be true? Could the Crown Prince really be gone? She had only spoken to him a couple of hours ago…. It didn't seem real, it couldn't be real… but if it couldn't real for her, she couldn't imagine what Her Majesty was going to say…."

"Charlotte? Are you alright?" Joseph was looking at her with concern. "If you don't think you can accompany me, I understand…."

"I'm coming, I'm fine," she straightened up and stiffened her shoulders, but she couldn't help but feel a growing nervousness in her stomach as she followed Joseph towards the closed study doors and, after tapping on the door, following him in.

Her Majesty was still sitting at her desk, perusing some paperwork, but she looked relaxed as she looked up and gave them a warm smile.

"Charlotte, I thought you would have gone home by now… and Joseph… is there some sort of crisis in the security hub that you can't handle?"

She was teasing them both and Charlotte couldn't help but feel her heart break at the awareness that Her Majesty had only just managed to get over the death of her husband and now was going to be crushed again by the loss of her son… and, worst of all, this loss wasn't expected at all…

"Your Majesty… Clarisse…" Joseph began, mumbling slightly as the Queen stood up, her smile fading.

"What's wrong, Joseph? Charlotte?" she asked with a twinge of concern in her voice.

"Why don't you come and sit down on the sofa?" Charlotte offered, seeing that Joseph was seemingly speechless.

"Of course… but what's wrong?" Her Majesty's eyes were still on Joseph as she walked slowly towards the sofa in the corner of the room. "Joseph… please tell me," her voice suddenly had more than a twinge of panic in it and Charlotte ached again. "It's not Pierre, is it?"

"No, Clarisse, it's not Pierre," Joseph finally said as he sat down beside her on the sofa and took one of her hands in his, Charlotte still standing above them but turning a blind eye to what she was witnessing.

"Then… what, Joseph?" her voice turned soft.

"My darling…." His voice was even quieter than Her Majesty's and Charlotte felt tender at the term of endearment he had just given Her Majesty…

"Joseph…."

"It's Phillipe…."

"No….no, no no… don't say anything," Her Majesty tried to pull her hand away from his but he kept a firm hold on it. "It's not true… you can't say it so it's not true…"  
"There's was an accident on the way back from Lybitt… Clarisse… he didn't survive."

For a long moment, Her Majesty stared dumbly at Joseph, seemingly not comprehending what he had said, what she had listened…but Charlotte, her own eyes welling with tears, could sense the emotion that was suddenly building in the Queen… before she turned away discreetly, not wanting to see the realisation strike the Queen… before there was a long, heartbroken scream and, the next thing Charlotte realised, when she turned back, was that the Queen, who had been trying to stand up, had suddenly sank to the ground and Joseph joined her, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his shoulder and Charlotte knew that it was time to walk away and leave them alone.

Outside, Scott was standing in front of her desk, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Is it true?"

"Yes. How did you find out?"

"I took the call and then passed it on to Joe…how….?"

"It's very hard to say at the moment, and I really don't want to say anything… how are you?" she asked gently, resting a hand on his arm. "Were any of them close friends of yours?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "The ones who are okay I'm closer to… but it's just hard to believe that I saw these guys this morning and now… and even worse, the Crown Prince…"

"I know, that is absolutely devastating," Charlotte said quietly, her eyes filling with tears again at the thought that they would never see the Crown Prince again, compounded by the scene she had just witnessed in the Queen's study and this time, it was Scott who put his arm around her to comfort her.

"She had just gotten over His Majesty… and now this… this is just…. dreadful…"

"There is going to be a lot to do in the meantime…"

"I don't think I could think about any of that at the moment, although I am going to have to contact the Prime Minister…."

"I'll do that," Scott said gently as Charlotte moved away from his arm and walked back around to her desk, wiping her eyes as she did so.

"No, thank you, I should do it."

"I thought you were about to go home."

"I don't think I'll be going home for the next couple of hours, if at all," Charlotte gave him a small smile.

Just then, Her Majesty's maids came into the office, both of them looking anxious and worried.

"Is it true…we heard….?"

"Indeed it is true."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I want you to prepare her suite upstairs and let the kitchen know to prepare a light meal, just in case… Scott, can you get your men organised as soon as possible- I assume someone will have to go to the hospital to check on your men…"

"What about you?"

"I've got a lot to do here…" but before she could say anymore, one of the Queen's study doors opened and the Queen and Joseph emerged, the Queen was white and shaking, leaning heavily on Joseph, her eyes focused blearily on the ground and neither of them had ever seen her so agonisingly devastated, not even with her husband, and I was something neither of them wanted to see again.

Scott and Charlotte were silent as the two of them made their way towards the office door before Joseph paused to give Charlotte a meaningful look, a look that Charlotte knew meant that he trusted her to get started on the preparations and he would come to find her as soon as possible….

"How much more can she take?" Scott murmured to himself when they were gone, obviously heading upstairs to the suite, and Charlotte only shrugged, although the question was running around in her head as well- _indeed, how much more could Her Majesty take?_


	7. Mia

_A/N: FINALLY an update! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Sorry, it's been so long- haven't had a moment to spare and haven't had the internet!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

The atmosphere in the palace in the immediate aftermath of the news of Prince Phillipe's death was considerably different to the aftermath of the king's- the older man's death had been expected, the Crown Prince's hadn't- and the shock and outpouring of emotion that was unleashed the following day after the news was released publicly almost threatened to send the country a complete and grinding halt, a similar reaction when a beloved 'former' member of the British royal family (although the public still considered her a part of the family) was killed in a car accident less than five years earlier, although that didn't assist Charlotte with the mountain sized work that she had to undergo.

The Prime Minister had raced over almost as soon as he had received the news from Charlotte the night of the accident, and his expression on his face as he almost ran into Charlotte's study was an expression that Charlotte seen only a half hour earlier on the face of the Queen and she would continue to see on the faces of the palace staff, certain members of parliament and on most faces of the press and public in the coming days.

"Are you sure?" were the first words out of Sebastian's mouth as soon as he entered the room and Charlotte could only nod. "When?"

"An hour or so ago… the… they're being transported to the hospital as we speak."

"Her Majesty….?"

"Upstairs with Joseph… I don't think she's in any condition to see anyone tonight."

"Of course not…" he shook his head regretfully before refocusing his attention on Charlotte. "So, what needs to be done?"

"The usual- press statements…." She trailed off as her mind drifted back to the expression on Her Majesty's face as she had emerged from her study only half an hour earlier and… she almost visibly shuddered…

"I know, it hasn't even been a year since King Rupert and now this… this accident… this is truly unbelievable… how much more can Her Majesty take?" he murmured in a soft voice, echoing Charlotte and Scott's sentiments and Charlotte could only murmur her agreement.

An hour later, after getting many of the details sorted out for the press release and the palace finally settling down to sleep (although it would be difficult for most, if not all of the staff), Charlotte quietly crept upstairs to Her Majesty's suite- she hadn't seen Joseph since he had practically carried the Queen out of her study and she really didn't want to disturb him, if he was consoling the Queen, but she also had to make sure that there was nothing else to be one before the following days…

She had just stepped outside the closed suite doors and was about to knock on the door, but then the door opened a crack and she could see Joseph's brown eyes peering through.

"Joe? I'm sorry to disturb you…" she began hesitatingly as the door opened a little further and Joseph stepped halfway out of the suite, his expression neutral but she could see the agony in his eyes, and she wasn't sure whether it was his own grief over the Prince or his concern for the Queen. "…But I wanted to find out if there was anything else that needed to be done tonight…"

"I don't think so," he said in a hushed voice, as if he didn't want anyone to overhear them. "I understand that Sebastian was over here before."

"Yes, and he has already agreed to the press statement and is going to call an emergency session of parliament in the morning."

"Good," but Charlotte sensed that he was displeased at the news, so she was quick to explain.

"It's only a session to explain the situation- there is nothing else on the agenda…"

"For now," Joseph said darkly and Charlotte knew that she was only making his suspicions worse.

"So… is there anything you wish me to do before I go home?"

"No, Charlotte, everything else can wait until tomorrow… thank you for staying back."

"It was my pleasure…" before she started, realising that it was probably wasn't the most appropriate thing to say. "How… is…. Her Majesty?"

"Gone to bed… not that I think she will be sleeping very much tonight…" his expression suddenly became less neutral, the agony in his eyes seeping into his face and Charlotte knew that he was suffering just as much as Her Majesty, but not only because of his own personal grief for the prince but for her own agony as well.

"If there is anything I can do…."

"Thank you, Charlotte. Good night," he said politely before he withdrew back into the suite again and closed the door. Charlotte wasn't at all offended by the semi-abruptness of their conversation- she could well understand that he was preoccupied with the woman who, in her suite, was suffering terrible grief, having barely gotten after the last bout of grief, and she was also more than a little relieved that Her Majesty wouldn't be alone on this terrible of nights, and hopefully he could continue to keep her company over the ensuing days.

0

Once the news was released to the public, there was a wave of anguish, despair and grief for a young man who hadn't planned to be the future King of Genovia, but rather focus on his charity work, who had been taken far sooner than anyone could have imagined; a young man who had been popular, friendly, compassion, intelligent and well liked in the country (even most of the members of parliament admitted that they liked the younger prince) and had many female admirers (although he hadn't had many opportunities to explore relationships, although it would be expected, upon his ascension to the throne, that he would marry again); a young man well educated and devoted to his family….and gone too soon.

The newspapers and news stories for the ensuing days after the accident, leading up to the funeral and even after the funeral, for days and weeks, were saturated with coverage of the Prince and Charlotte found it difficult to peruse the papers each day and see different but happy pictures of the Prince on the covers of the newspapers, tributes delivered in print and on television and the flurry for flowers and messages of condolence that were flooding the palace- she could barely imagine what Her Majesty was feeling, not that she had seen her since the evening of the accident.

The morning after, Joseph, looking exhausted and grief stricken, had emerged from the royal suite with a list of tasks to do and Charlotte and Sebastian took it and divided it up between them- Charlotte focusing on dealing with the press and contacting those around the world who would want to attend the funeral, Sebastian dealing with the parliament as well as initial plans for the funeral, which Charlotte, Joseph and Sebastian would be working on together, as the Queen was clearly in no state to do anything.

Joseph called Pierre as soon as he had emerged from the suite and while he didn't say much about the conversation, he grimly confirmed that the Prince would be attending the funeral, and would be flying in the day before.

"He is in the middle of some difficult exams and he doesn't want to postpone them unless necessary," he said grimly to Charlotte and she had the sense that he wasn't too pleased at Pierre's response.

"He will be here, that's what matters," Charlotte said soothingly.

"Well, that's not good enough," Joseph snapped, whirling around and glaring at Charlotte for a moment before he subsided. "I'm sorry, Charlotte," he said tiredly, rubbing his hand across his eyes. "I understand his commitments, and I'm sure Clarisse and Phillipe would understand as well… it's just that…."

"I understand," was all Charlotte said in response.

"There is a phone call that I'm going to need you to make," Joseph said after a moment and Charlotte immediately reached for her pen and pad. "And you need to make sure that you are alone when you make the call… use Her Majesty's study, please."

"Who am I calling?" she asked curiously.

"I need to you place a call to Helen Thermopolis, I believe she's still in San Francisco," and Charlotte suddenly realised why she was calling San Francisco… Phillipe's ex-wife and daughter lived there…. "I need you to pass the news on to them- I'm sure that the news has already been released there, but she needs to receive official confirmation from the palace."

"Is she… will they… be coming to the funeral?"

"You can extend the invitation, if you wish, but I have the feeling that the promise that Phillipe and Clarisse made years ago will still be in play."

"Promise?"

"Yes. They both agreed that they would keep their distance from the little girl until she turned eighteen, to allow her to have a normal childhood… although that's going to change now…" he trailed off thoughtfully and Charlotte only nodded as she made a note on her notepad.

"When would you like me to call?"

He glanced at his watch and was seemingly trying to calculate the time difference.

"Maybe now- I'm sure the Princess will either be at school or coming home from school… it's probably best if you call now so that Ms Thermopolis can decide whether she will tell her daughter or not."

"Prince Phillipe was her father, surely she should be told."

"I don't know," he shrugged and glanced at his watch again. "I'm going back upstairs to Her Majesty again- if there's anything you need, you know where I'll be."

"Yes sir," she said simply and waited until Joseph had left the room before she tapped a name into her computer and quickly wrote down a number and then made her way to Her Majesty's study, closing the door gently behind her.

The atmosphere of the study was strange and Charlotte felt awkward being in the room when the Queen wasn't in- and it felt even stranger knowing that this place was where she had received the news of her youngest son's death, in front of Joseph and Charlotte and where her initial anguish had been released in a heartbreaking scream.

There was still paper strewn all over the desk and Charlotte remembered that they had interrupted the Queen while she was finishing up her paperwork the previous evening, and she only piled the papers into a pile before reaching for the phone.

She paused for a moment as she looked down at the number of the paper- Joseph had told the Queen and her elder son the devastating news, and now it was her turn to tell his ex-wife (and, by extension, his daughter) the same terrible news, and she wasn't looking forward to it at all- in fact, she was feeling very, very nervous. But before she could back away (and she knew that she wouldn't be allowed to), Charlotte picked up the receiver and began punching in numbers. She had to speak to an international operator to transfer the call through, and there was a pause as the line was connected through, and then the phone began to ring. It rang several times and Charlotte began to wonder if there was anyone there, before someone picked up the phone.

"Hello, Thermopolis residence."

For a moment, Charlotte couldn't speak as she realised that the young voice on the end of the line was fifteen year old Mia Thermopolis, the new heir to the throne of Genovia.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?"

"Hello, this is Charlotte Kutaway. May I please speak to Helen Thermopolis?"

"My mom? Sure!" before the phone was put down and she could hear the young girl call out: "Mom! Phone call for you!"

There was another waiting period before a slightly older and more mature woman's voice came on the line: "Hello?"

"Helen Thermopolis?"

"Yes, who is this?" Helen replied pleasantly.

"This is Charlotte Kutaway, private secretary to Her Majesty, the Queen of Genovia," Charlotte began, her voice trembling slightly- she had used the term starting phone conversations many, many times, but this was very different.

"Yes?" there was suddenly a tone of wariness in Helen's voice, as if she was suspicious about the palace contacting her for any reason.

"I'm calling on behalf of the Queen… I have some very bad news…"

"Is it Her Majesty? Is she alright?" the wariness was suddenly replaced by concern, even worry.

"She is… fine," although fine wasn't the word she would necessarily describe Her Majesty, especially at this time. "It's about Crown Prince Phillipe… there was a car accident last night and… he was killed in the accident, I'm so sorry."

"Oh… my…." Helen finally said after a long, heavy silence and Charlotte was waiting patiently for his response. "How is Her Majesty?"

"She is… coping…. I was asked to pass this news onto you, although you may have already heard about it?"

"No, not here… although we really don't read the papers here…."

"I was also requested to pass an invitation on to your and your daughter Amelia to attend the funeral, if you so wish."

"I see," Helen said, again after a long pause. "I see."

"Arrangements haven't been officially made yet, so I cannot give you a formal date and time, but I just wanted to pass the invitation onto you, if you…."

"Thank you, Charlotte, I appreciate the invitation and I will consider it," Helen spoke over Charlotte hastily. "At the moment… I just need to pass this news onto my daughter... if you can let me know more details when they come to hand… I… I'm just not sure whether this would be the best time to reveal to the world that my daughter is a princess… or reveal that fact to herself…."

 _She doesn't know that she's a princess?_ Charlotte couldn't help but mouth the words silently- how on earth could that be kept a secret for sixteen years? It was a lie that formed the basis of her childhood and she wasn't sure that she approved… although she didn't know what precisely the agreement was between Phillipe, Helen and the Queen… but still….

"I understand," Charlotte said quickly, not wanting Helen to feel that she was judging her. "I will keep you up to date when I know more… and I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you… and please pass my condolences on to Her Majesty," Helen's voice suddenly sounded wistful and Charlotte had the sense that she still cared about her former husband, even they had been forced apart.

"I will."

00000

The next two weeks were literally the most shattering and heartbreaking that Charlotte had ever endured in her time at the palace- and she wasn't the grieving mother who was trying to keep herself together for the sake of her son and the country.

The arrangements for the funeral were completed during the first day after the accident, and it was going to be a similar occasion to his fathers, although much quieter and without as much pomp and circumstance as the previous funeral.

"He was the Crown Prince but he wasn't the monarch," Sebastian reasoned, but both he and Charlotte knew that he hadn't liked pomp and circumstances, and they had decided to keep the ceremony as simple as possible, but with some of the same traditions as other funerals for members of the royal family.

Charlotte wasn't at all surprised when the guest list for Phillipe's funeral and wake surpassed his father- there were formal representatives from countries, but many were his friends and associates from his charity work- and when she mentioned the fact to Joseph on one of his rare trips downstairs, he smiled.

"Of course- he hated all that circumstance and he was definitely more popular than his father… have you heard whether Ms Thermopolis will be attending?"

Charlotte looked down at her notes and took a deep breath in- he wasn't going to like this at all but they couldn't force the ex-wife or the daughter (who was unaware of her heritage) to attend the funeral.

"She left a message with the Attaché Corp- she would prefer to protect her daughter and not expose her to the press… she would rather they mourn him privately."  
"Fair enough," was all he could say but Charlotte, judging by the clenching of his jaw, could tell that he wasn't pleased but there was nothing he could do.

"Joe? Are you alright?" she asked- she felt that they were close enough friends that she could ask him about himself, and Joseph's shoulder's relaxed slightly.

"I'm fine, why?"

"I'm just asking as a concerned friend, that's all. I imagine that you haven't had much sleep in the past few days…"

"I've slept on the sofa, it's not very comfortable but I want to be available in case she needs me," he shrugged, before he was aware of the fact that he was confiding something personal- that he was staying in Her Majesty's suite- and he frowned. "I would prefer that you wouldn't pass that information on to anyone," he added stiffly and Charlotte nodded, looking serious.

"Joe, I would never betray your confidence- you can talk to me, you know that."

"I know," he nodded, still looking grave, but the tone of his voice lightened somewhat. "And I appreciate your support… I… I just want this….these weeks to be over and done with… not that I don't want to remember Phillipe but… Her Majesty…."

"Is she….?"

"She's… not good… she's coping but not coping…it's hard to explain… I'm just wondering how much more can she take…" he trailed off, seemingly in another world, concerned about his Queen, although Charlotte had the sense that she was more than his queen…but now was not the time to pursue that thought….

"If there's anything I can do to help…."

"You're already doing far more than you know," he said seriously, giving her a meaningful look before turning away and walking out of the room.


	8. Options

The next day dawned grey and cool- not normal weather for April, but seemingly appropriate for this day- and the palace almost silently and soberly came to life, all its inhabitants knowing that this day was very, very different to the previous funeral- it was a funeral of a young, handsome man who had been taken away too soon and too early.

Just as many mourners who had attended the King's funeral flew into the country in the days leading up to the day itself, but the second most important mourner flew into Genovia the afternoon before the funeral and, upon arriving at the palace, headed upstairs with barely a greeting to the palace staff waiting for him, not that Charlotte could blame him- coupled with his grief over his brother, the attitude some of the palace staff (mainly loyal to His Majesty) displayed towards him had made him wary, but she wanted to tell him that there were some that were loyal to him and his mother.

It was late when Charlotte finally finalised the details of the funeral and wake- again, it would be held at the church with a private burial at the family crypt and a reception at the palace- and she was relieved that she would be able to go home, even for a couple of hours sleep, tomorrow would be a long and difficult day- but before she could move away from her desk, there was a gentle knock on the door and she turned to see Prince Pierre standing there, looking weary and grief stricken.

"Prince Pierre… Your Highness…. Your…."

"It's still just Pierre, Charlotte," he gave her a small smile.

"Pierre… I am so very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you- it was an awful shock…" he looked past her towards the closed study doors. "I still can't believe it."

"None of us can."

"And Mother…I cannot describe…." He shook his head in disbelief, as if trying to rid himself of an unpleasant image. "I wish I could stay longer to help her…I can only stay until the day after the funeral."

"Why so little time?"

"I am studying, Charlotte," he finally looked at her directly. "No, it's more than that… it's just that after what's happened… I don't really belong here anymore…"

"You do… we all miss you… the people who are still here are people that care about you… and Her Majesty…" before she trailed off, realising that she had probably crossed the boundaries that were established between the royal family and the palace staff.

"Thank you, Charlotte, I appreciate that…" he reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure that my mother also does as well…" before he paused and let out a long sigh. "Well, tomorrow is going to be a long, long day….I just wanted to come and say hello and thank you personally for all that you have done, planning two funerals in the space of a year- I truly appreciate it."

"My privilege," was all Charlotte said and Pierre gave her hand another squeeze before silently leaving the room.

0

In years to come, Charlotte could barely remember many details of the next day- she was not only grieving herself for a man that she liked and respected, but she was also a close witness to the pain that Her Majesty and her son were enduring, made all the worse by the fact the rest of the country and the rest of the world were watching and able to see that pain as well. Charlotte herself could barely imagine the sensation of being watched so closely by familiar people and strangers, so she could only imagine what was going through the minds of the Queen and son, although she knew that they had been trained to keep their emotions under wraps and their expressions neutral.

However, Charlotte knew that Her Majesty was truly suffering- the moment she set eyes on her that morning when she emerged from her suite, Pierre and Joseph accompanying her, she almost let out a loud gasp- she was pale and withdrawn and looked as though she hadn't slept or eaten in the week since she had learned about the accident. Charlotte only hoped that the day would pass quickly for her.

The ceremony was traditional in some aspects but it also reflected Phillipe's personality and interests, and while Charlotte had been determined to get upset, there were instances during the ceremony when she had to dab at her eyes.

All in all, it was a ceremony that celebrated the Prince's life and it was an occasion that she suspected that Phillipe would have appreciated, and the ceremony afterwards was less solemn and there were moments of quiet laughter as his friends told stories about their friend. Charlotte remained in the background, floating around and observing and occasionally pausing to talk to a guest, but she was pleased to see that Joseph and Pierre remained close to the Queen's side and that she looked a little better, even giving brave smiles when some of the guests told her stories about her son.

However, she was glad when Her Majesty finally left the reception- it was the signal that the reception was over and Charlotte had the opportunity to sink into her chair behind her desk and reflect on the day itself. The funeral and reception had been memorable (and definitely what Phillipe had deserved) but she had other concerns that had come to the forefront in the past couple of days and she was hoping that the palace would return to normal as soon as possible- the deaths of the King and the Crown Prince had destabilised everything to an extent that was disconcerting, and she had heard rumours that there were members of parliament (including the Von Trokans, a socially ambitious couple who wanted a seat in parliament) who were making murmurings about 'making a move' in regards to the throne, although she didn't understand how they could do that while there was a Renaldi on the throne.

"Not a blood Renaldi," Sebastian had said quietly when Charlotte had queried the rumours with him only a day earlier. "Yes, Her Majesty has been Queen in her own right and has been ruling very well since the death of the King," he added quickly as Charlotte opened her mouth to protest. "However, there is a group in parliament that stick to the Constitution and one of the laws is that a blood Renaldi (or whoever) should always been on the throne- and that could also include distant relatives, including the Von Trokans."

The Von Trokans had amused Charlotte at first, with their antics- crashing dinner parties and giving the occasional interview to the media- but her former boss, Joseph and Sebastian had quickly convinced her that they WEREN'T amusing, their interviews and 'crashing' could be interpreted as threats and they were serious as were the rumblings from the other members of parliament.

"They're bad news, be very, very wary around them," was all Joseph had said.

Aside from the Von Trokans, another major threat included Arthur Mabrey, a new member to parliament but clearly arrogant and had delusions of ambition and believing that he deserved more than what he had, and he was frightening with his obvious ambition and his behaviour, particularly towards Her Majesty- sly and flirtatious, but there was clearly something more under the surface, and Charlotte was determined to find out what was going on and be there for Her Majesty- her loyalty was to the Queen, no one else.

000

Meanwhile, upstairs in the royal suite, Her Majesty was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring emptily into the fire (late for April, but Joseph had insisted on it), the heat and light of the flames seeming to warm up the living room, convey that there was life in the room, but for Joseph, sitting quietly on the sofa near the fire, he was keenly aware of the black clad figure almost huddled at the opposite end of the fire and he was concerned about her own state of mind- yes, the day had been difficult for him as well, genuinely grieving for a young man he had been very fond of, as well the knowledge that there undercurrents in parliament but he was more concerned about her, Clarisse… his Queen… his boss… his beloved….

"Joseph?" suddenly came a soft (but to his ears, elegant and melodic) and he turned to see her looking at him, drawn, tired and pale.

"Yes… Clarisse?" At times like these, when they were alone, he knew that formalities we to be discarded, but most especially at this time, when she obviously needed companionship.

"I didn't… didn't mean to leave earlier… should I have stayed downstairs a little longer?"

"No, I think when you left was the best time."

"But… but…."

"Clarisse," he moved a little closer and reached over slowly to rest his hand on top of hers. "You already have had a lot to deal with in the last week or so and I think that they would have cut you a little bit of slack if you retired early… and frankly, you don't need to justify yourself to anyone, not even me."

"Do you know where Pierre has gone to?"

"I think he's already retired to his room… would you like to send for him?"

"No, no, he doesn't need that… I just wish that he had more time here than two days."

"I'm sure he wishes that too."

"But I also don't want him to suffer with his studies… he gave up so much to follow his dreams and I don't want him to miss out on anymore…"

"I'm sure he wouldn't feel that way if he could stay… I'm sure he would stay longer if he could…"

"Parliament…damn parliament," she muttered bitterly to herself before she took a long, shaky deep breath in. "Do you know if everything has been cleaned up downstairs?"  
"I'm sure it would have all been, knowing Charlotte, Mrs Cout and the rest of the palace staff."

"Charlotte," Clarisse said softly. "I fear that I have taken advantage of her in the past few weeks… actually, the past few years….I know this was not was what she was expecting when she applied for the position…"

"I wouldn't worry about her at all, I know that she's enjoying every minute of the role and you haven't taken advantage of her, she has been doing the additional work because she wants to and that she is loyal to you."

" _Additional work_?" Clarisse suddenly looked mortified. "How much 'additional work' has she been doing?"

"Not much," Joseph said vaguely.

"Joseph…."

"She hasn't done that much at all, and you are not to worry yourself about what she has been doing- she's a very capable worker and she is enjoying the work."

"Alright," she collapsed back against the sofa, energy spent and Joseph sensed that she was exhausted. "Alright… but tomorrow, there is going to have to be a meeting between her, you and me as well as Pierre and maybe even Sebastian."

"Alright… but why?"

"Well, I'm well aware that my time on the throne is almost over and that it's time for someone else to step into the void."

"You can't be seriously considering… abdication?" Joseph said in horror- surely she wasn't that crushed that she would consider the one option that would cause a great deal of trouble in the country, as well as playing into the hands of the troublemakers in parliament. "You can't do that! I won't let you!"

"I'd like to see you try and stop me," she said with the ghost of a small smile. "But no, that option is one that I haven't considered… there is another option."

"Which is?"

"I know Phillipe and I agreed to keep our distance from her daughter until she's eighteen, but… that's something that I cannot do now, not with others wanting to wrest the throne away from the Renaldi family. I know she is only fifteen, but…. there is really no other choice," she said with a twinge of regret in her voice. "The parliament needs to know that there is a genuine blood relative Renaldi that can succeed the throne… I will merely be a caretaker until she comes of age."

"When she's 21?"

"Yes. When she's twenty one," before she sighed again. "I hope that I don't have to endure again the past two weeks… or, rather, the past two years."

"I hope you don't have to either," he said softly as he shifted closer to her and she suddenly moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.


	9. Plans

_A/N: Thanks to my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

The next morning, Charlotte was surprised to discover Her Majesty's study doors open, and when she stepped towards the doors, she almost collided with Joseph who was stepping out of the room.

"G…good morning, Joseph," Charlotte gasped when she had recovered from her surprise and he gave her a warm smile, knowing that he had surprised her.

"Good morning… are you alright?"

"I'm… I'm fine- I just hadn't expected…."

"As I can see," his eyes twinkled mischievously but before he could say anything else, another voice from behind him spoke up:

"Good morning, Charlotte," and Joseph stepped back to reveal Her Majesty sitting at her desk, clad in black and still looking pale and withdrawn, but considerably better than the day before; and Charlotte was also surprised to see Prime Minister Motaz sitting in one chair and Prince Pierre sitting in the other chair.

"Good morning Your Majesty, Prince Pierre, Sebastian. Is there anything I can do for you at the moment?"

"We need to have a meeting," Joseph said bluntly, waving her into the study and closing the doors behind her. "There's nothing on the schedule for this morning, and any phone calls will be dealt with by the others."

"I see," Charlotte was still slightly dumbfounded at seeing everyone (particularly Her Majesty) in the study, ready to work while she was seemingly unprepared and her head was full of questions; namely, what was this meeting about- although she had a creeping suspicion what it could be about… but WHY were parliament forcing the issue? Her Majesty had lost her husband and son in an unbelievably short period of time and needed time to herself, to grieve and accept her losses she had endured (Phillipe's passing more than the King's) and the changes that had been forced upon her- parliament attempting to be much more influential in serious decisions (that is, they made the decisions with the 'input' of the Queen) and threatening to bypass the royal family altogether, put someone more 'appropriate' on the throne but Charlotte personally felt that she needed some time to heal… but obviously that wasn't going to happen.

"What is the meeting about?" she queried finally and it was Sebastian's turn to give her a warm smile as she sank into the remaining free chair and accepting a notepad and pen from Joseph, still trying to remain professional and dignified.

"We need to discuss the royal family's 'next move'," Sebastian said bluntly, leaning forward in his chair with an intense expression on his face.

"Next move?"

"Yes, next move. You are probably aware of certain… rumours… in parliament… about…"

"Yes I am," Charlotte said immediately, giving the Queen and Prince Pierre an uncomfortable look but their expressions was neutral. "I don't know all the details…"

"Well, Joseph and I do," Sebastian said grimly. "It's not particularly pleasant but… there are certain members of parliament who are… discussing trying to wrest the throne away from Her Majesty."

"WHAT?!" Pierre leapt out of his chair, his expression horrified but Her Majesty's was still unreadable. "You're not serious, are you? It's ridiculous, it's absolutely ridiculous!"

"I know, Your Highness, I agree with you completely and I'm not going to allow this… movement…to continue."

"What are you planning?" Pierre sank back in his chair his eyes still on Sebastian.

"Your Majesty," Sebastian turned his gaze towards the still silent monarch, sitting behind her desk and fiddling with her glasses, but when Sebastian focused the attention on her, she set her glasses on the table and, after a moment of studying her hands, she took a deep breath in and then looked up.

"We need to get into contact with Helen Thermopolis and… Amelia…" she suddenly stopped, seeming a little overwhelmed with her emotions as she looked back down at her hands again.

"Why?" Charlotte couldn't help asking before blushing, realising that it was a ridiculous question. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Sebastian said as Pierre and Joseph gave her sympathetic smiles.

"Now that…" Pierre paused for a moment before continuing. "…after what's happened… according to Genovian Law, there must be a genuine Renaldi blood relative on the throne (or set to inherit the throne within a certain amount of time) otherwise it reverts to an equally ancient family with connections…such as the Von Trokan family, although there are other families with parliament who have a better claim to the throne."

"I have heard- not directly, but through other sources, that there are other potential candidates for the throne and that they are already considering their options…."

"What options?" Charlotte asked sharply, so sharply that even the Queen looked at her in surprise.

"I cannot say for sure, but my sources say that they are serious…very serious."

"Serious enough to drag my niece into the fold?" Pierre spoke up and, like a tennis volley, eyes and attention turned towards him.

"Yes," came from the Queen- it was a simple, singular word but the power behind the word, the determination, firmness and intransigence was what confirmed the decision to all present the room.

"Maman- why? She's only a young girl, barely sixteen, Phillipe wouldn't have wanted this… stupid parliament," he muttered to himself but he also knew WHY Amelia had to be introduced to her father's heritage and family- it was urgent and necessary that she knew that the was next heir to the throne and accepted that role and associated responsibilities, but even so, knowing what he knew about being the heir to the throne and what it entailed, he wanted to protect her. "Surely, Maman, she deserves privacy… at least until she finishes high school."

"Enough, Pierre," his mother said sharply, in a tone that seemed to take everyone aback- Pierre included. "It is regrettable that we have to do this," she continued in a softer tone. "But… if we are to prevent what we discussed earlier, we need to take steps to prevent that…."

"Abdication is definitely not a consideration," Joseph finally spoke up, giving the Queen a hard look, followed by Sebastian and Pierre, while Charlotte suddenly felt that she was in the middle of something she shouldn't be (as well as registering the word 'abdication'… NO!) but unfortunately, she was the furthest person away from the doors, she would definitely be noticed if she tried to leave the room. Both Sebastian and Pierre both looked shocked at Joseph's words and they both looked at the Queen in horror.

"You weren't seriously considering abdication, were you Maman?" Pierre asked in a small voice.

"Your Majesty, you cannot do that! You would be virtually handing the throne to this group of trouble makers!" Sebastian almost growled. "I know I am supposed to be neutral, politically, but abdication… no! You cannot do that!

"The country has only just recovered from MY abdication," Pierre stepped in again. "If there was another abdication so soon… it would destroy not only the Renaldi family reputation but the reputation of the country…."

"Pierre, Sebastian," the Queen held up a hand with a weary look. "I can assure you that abdication is most definitely off the table- I admit that I may have flirted with the idea, but not seriously."

"You don't need to mention this part in your notes, Charlotte," Joseph said sternly, but Charlotte had already put her pen down and was only listening to the conversation between the others.

"Of course not. I won't do that."

"We trust you, Charlotte," the Queen said to her directly with a tiny smile. "Joseph is just being over protective," before she gave her Head of Security the same tiny smile and their eyes met and held for a long moment.

"So… what are we going to do?" Charlotte said, hating to break up the moment but wanting to know what she had to do in regards to planning and paperwork.

"I recommend that Her Majesty goes to San Francisco to see the girl herself," Sebastian said finally. "This news is not something that you can tell over the telephone."

"Definitely not," Pierre agreed.

"What do we… I do when we meet Amelia?" the Queen suddenly sounded nervous, something that Charlotte had never thought she would hear in Her Majesty's voice, and she suddenly realised that Her Majesty was well aware of what was at stake and that this visit was essential to the survival of the royal family.

"Play it by ear," Sebastian advised. "Get to know the young lady and her mother, spend time with her…."

"All while running a country from San Francisco."

"I know it seems impossible, but I will keep an eye on things here and I will let you know if any problems come up."

"What dates do you have in mind?" Charlotte asked after a moment.

"When are the American summer school holidays?"

"Some of June, July and August…."

"Amelia's birthday is at the end of June," Joseph suddenly spoke up quietly and the Queen turned to look at him.

"Is that so?"

"It's true, you know that as well."

"If we go a week or so before her birthday, maybe we could have some time then…"

"She would still be in school, but it's possible that you could spend time with her after school."

"What about the Independence Day Ball? It's around that time….and there's a state dinner for the Ambassador of Japan…." Charlotte trailed off and the rest of the room turned quiet for a moment before Sebastian clapped his hands together with a grin.

"I have a brilliant idea- have both the Ball and the state dinner at the San Francisco consulate! It will introduce the young lady to some of the responsibilities that her role will entail… and besides, it might be fun to have a different location for the celebrations… the palace staff deserve a break."

"Have… both of them… at the consulate?" Her Majesty repeated slowly, looking intrigued. "Is it possible?"

"Didn't you have one of the Princes 21st birthdays in London?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, we did," Joseph spoke up. "It went very well and all the guests enjoyed themselves… I remember one of them saying to me that it would be nice to celebrate different occasions away from the palace."

"So… why not now as well?" Sebastian looked back at Her Majesty with a curious look. "I think it will work."

Her Majesty looked around the room with an almost dazed look and Charlotte realised that she still wasn't totally back on board emotionally before her blue eyes stopped on Charlotte.

"Charlotte? What do you think? It will mean a lot of extra work for you especially."

"It is completely up to you, Your Majesty," Charlotte responded quietly, although she found the idea intriguing and she thought she would be able to cope with the extra workload.

"That's not an answer to my question, Charlotte," the Queen chided her gently with a small smile. "I want to know what you think."

"I think… it could work and I don't mind the extra workload… I think it might be… fun," Charlotte finished with a blush and she couldn't help but blush even deeper when she heard Sebastian's deep throated chuckle.

"Pierre?"

"I won't be there, of course, but I think that Sebastian is right- it will give Amelia the chance to learn about her possible responsibilities, as well as you getting to know here. I think you should do it."

"Joseph?"

"It's up to you, Your Majesty," he shrugged. "But it would be worth the effort."

"Then, we'll do it," Her Majesty said decisively. "Sebastian will keep an eye on things here…"

"There won't be any problems- most of parliament will be itching to go on holidays anyway, and there's no official visits scheduled until the end of August… so, everything will be fine here."

"I'm still going to be contactable even though I'll be in America, I'll be requesting paperwork be sent over there…."

"Your Majesty, it's going to be fine," Sebastian stood up and walked over to the desk and reached down to rest a hand on top of hers. "All that matters is that you get to meet your granddaughter and she begins to learn about her heritage."

00000

Six weeks later, Charlotte found herself on Genovia One, heading towards San Francisco, sitting behind Her Majesty and going through some paperwork, while Joseph was sitting further down the plane, talking quietly with one of the flight attendants.

She had been on Genovia One at least once or twice over the years, but she still found herself slightly overwhelmed by the opulence of the cabin, the soft, padded seats (and there were considerably less chairs than on a commercial flight), the ready access to technology (including a television in one corner of the cabin), the friendly flight attendants who offered beverages and food every hour and just the general peaceful surroundings.

"You look comfortable," she suddenly heard Joseph's voice above her (they had been in the air for a couple of hours, and while Her Majesty was perusing paperwork in the seats ahead, Charlotte herself was going over her notes for the state dinner that was scheduled for the second week of their visit) and she looked up with a smile.

"I've been on this plane a couple of times over the years but I'm still not used to it… it's amazing."  
"Indeed it is- on my first trip on it, I was afraid to move from my seat, just in case I dragged dirt through the carpet. Her Majesty had to call me at least five times before I dared to get out of my seat."

"I'm sure that made you popular."

"She was quite alright about it… how are the plans going for the state dinner?"

"Fine. Everyone has confirmed their attendance, and the consulate staff is already planning menu and all of that… I just have to confirm it when we get there…. When do you think we'll get there?"

He glanced at his watch and frowned, as if calculating the time difference.

"We should be there around seven o'clock in the morning… we'll go straight to the consulate and we'll go from there."

"What about….?"

"We'll see about that later," he glanced quickly at the royal sitting just a seat ahead of them and shook his head slightly. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine for the moment, thanks for asking," she smiled gratefully at him and he returned the smile before he moved forward to bend down over the Queen.

Charlotte paused in her work to watch the interaction between the two- as soon as he had mentioned her name, Her Majesty had looked up with a smile, before removing her glasses and murmuring something in response and then waving to the seat next to her. There was a slight pause before he sat down next to her and then they began talking again, their voices so low that Charlotte couldn't hear a word (not that she wanted to hear what they were talking about) but there was something about the way he had leaned slightly towards her, as well as the soft expression on the Queen's face, the way she smiled slightly at something Joe said to her, that confirmed a suspicion of Charlotte's and made her wonder what they truly were to each other… hopefully, they were at least friends….


	10. San Francisco (Part One)

_Two chapters in one upload! Couldn't resist- still having problems with the internet!_

 _Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

The flight went quicker than expected, and while Charlotte hadn't planned on having a sleep during the flight, she was surprised to discover herself waking up and finding herself covered with a light blanket. It was only a few minutes later that the flight attendants came around to announce that the plane was about to descend into San Francisco.

Her Majesty seemingly hadn't moved position during the trip- she looked as unruffled and calm as ever- but Charlotte vaguely remembered, as she drifted off to sleep earlier, witnessing Joseph tenderly draping a blanket over the dozing Queen (and he had obviously done the same for her) and when she glanced back to where he was sitting at the back of the cabin (where Scott said he always sat) she wasn't surprised to see him looking unruffled and still immaculately groomed in his usual black shoes, pants, shirt and leather jacket, with a grey tie- and he gave her a smile and a wink before they both buckled up and focused on the landing.

There was a black limousine with the Genovian flag attached and two vans waiting on the tarmac when Charlotte followed Joseph and the Queen down the stairs, and she momentarily wondered where she would be travelling (she usually travelled in the front of one of the cars or one of the vans when Her Majesty travelled overseas or even domestically- not that she had travelled much lately) when she heard Her Majesty calling her name:  
"Charlotte? Would you mind accompanying me in the limousine? There are a few things we need to discuss…."

Joseph gave her a grin as she walked around to the other side of the back of the car, Her Majesty having already settled into the car and Joseph had just shut her door, before Charlotte stepped into the back seat while Joseph quickly shut the door behind her and then stepped into the front passenger seat before the car took off.

There was a long, slightly awkward silence in the back seat of the royal limousine, the two women adjusting to the presence of the other in the car before Her Majesty took a deep breath in and let it out slowly and gently as she sat back in her seat before turning to Charlotte.

"Charlotte?"

"Ma'am?" Charlotte said timidly, still not knowing how to act around Her Majesty, especially when they were alone, particularly after what had occurred in the past few years.

"When we're alone, I would prefer it if you call me Clarisse."

"Ma'am?" Charlotte repeated, honoured at the privilege but also confused.

"Charlotte. You have been a dedicated, hardworking and loyal personal assistant to me over the years- and I know that the last few years have been difficult- and I want you to know that I appreciate the hard work you have done."

"Thank… you?" Charlotte couldn't help but sound apologetic and the Queen smiled gently at her.

"I have been wanting to ask you to call me by my first name for a little while- we've been working closely together for a long time now and I feel that you would be able to call me Clarisse when we're working on paperwork together… Her Majesty is quite a cumbersome title to continue saying at least twenty times a day…and I also feel that it might make things more comfortable between us."

"I've always felt comfortable around you," Charlotte couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth- and she could see that the Queen… Clarisse… was equally as surprised. "I've enjoyed working with you since I started- and I hope to be able to continue working for you in years to come," she finished with a blush and, much to her disbelief, the older woman reached over and briefly touched her hand.

"I hope that you will be as well- you're one of the best personal assistants I have had in a long time," before she paused for a moment, appearing embarrassed, and then withdrew her hand and glanced back out the window- they were now driving over the hills of San Francisco and both of them registered two young schoolgirls crossing the street metres ahead of them, one of them pushing a scooter, but as they passed the girls descending the peak of the hill, obviously on their way to school, the Queen… Clarisse… and Charlotte turned their attention back towards the matter at hand- namely, preparing to meet the Crown Princess of Genovia and what could happen then… as well as ensuring that the Queen continuing to run Genovia while in San Francisco….

00000

Once they had arrived at the consulate, Joseph escorted the Queen inside and upstairs to her suite- she planned on having a 'lie down' after the trip, but Charlotte, refreshed from her sleep on the plane, was ready for action- and there was quite a lot to do on her list, the top task being calling Helen Thermopolis and requesting a 'meeting' (in other words, afternoon tea) between Phillipe's 15 year old daughter and the girl's paternal grandmother, the mother of Amelia's father, and while Charlotte knew the Queen… Clarisse… had ever confidence in her, Charlotte also knew that the conversation had the potential to be difficult….

"Her Majesty is **HERE**?! In San Francisco?" Helen Thermopolis sounded surprised on her end of the line when Charlotte had informed her to the Queen's presence in San Francisco. "She came all this way just to meet my daughter?"

"Yes," Charlotte said simply.

"But… why?"

"With… the Crown Prince's passing, parliament is seeking to determine the next in line to the throne…."

"But Her Majesty…"

"May be Queen, yes, but she is also only royal by marriage and Genovian law states that the blood family member needs to be either on the throne or officially in line for the throne…"

"And since Phillipe is gone and Pierre has abdicated… it's down to Mia," Helen finished bluntly.

 _Mia_ … Charlotte had mention 'Mia' on many occasion with tenderness in his voice and expression- a nickname- and Charlotte suddenly wondered what the girl was like….

"Yes, that's correct. But I was also told to inform you that Her Majesty wishes to develop a relationship with your daughter that has nothing to do with this other… issue…"

"Charlotte, I appreciate what you're saying, but I also understand that this issue you mentioned is serious and that the entire country could be affected… I understand that much," she paused for a moment. "Do I need to mention anything to Mia….?"

"I think Her Majesty would prefer to have that conversation in person- it is possible for her to come to the Genovian consulate this afternoon, around four?"  
"She has a part time after school job at a local rock climbing centre… Would tomorrow suit Her Majesty?"

"It would," Charlotte didn't have to look at the schedule to know that any time would suit Her Majesty, the situation was that delicate and urgent… "After school tomorrow, around four?"

"Fine, I'll let her know and make sure she's there," and there was another pause. "Oh, and Charlotte? Thank you," and Charlotte was startled at the gratitude in Helen's voice but she only murmured a generic farewell and hung up the phone. Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting….

000

The following day, the consulate was a hive of activity- while the Queen… Clarisse… had been disappointed that she couldn't see her granddaughter until the next afternoon (and she had wondered aloud about why her granddaughter had an after school job- 'Surely her father provided well enough for her'), by the time the following afternoon arrived, she had clearly gotten over her disappointment and was already waiting almost nervously upstairs in her suite, pacing in her suite, according to the consulate staff.

"How is she?" Joseph asked Charlotte when they met in the hallway, Charlotte on her way back to her desk for her tape recorder (she had a few things she wanted to note down before she forgot) while Joseph was on his way outside to the garden where afternoon tea had been set up and where he would be hiding unobtrusively, observing the situation as it unfolded- for now, the Crown Princess was still an unknown quantity, although Phillipe had spoken about her enough over the years for them to have an idea of what the Princess would be like, but then again, she was now a teenager….

"She seems nervous…." Charlotte said as she perused her list for her upcoming dinner- it would be held in a week's time and there was so much to do.

"I suppose that would be understandable," Joseph replied. "Her Majesty hasn't seen her granddaughter at all… she's only heard stories and seen pictures of her… wouldn't you be nervous about that if you hadn't seen a long lost relative?"

"I hadn't thought about it, but yes, I think I would be nervous- how about you?"

"I suppose so," he mused and Charlotte watched him for a moment before she couldn't help but tease gently:

"Are you nervous as well?"

"Hmmm?" he paused, he had been looking distractedly out the window and checking his watch.

"I think you're nervous as well," she said bluntly and Joseph looked at her directly and intensely for a moment, his expression unreadable and Charlotte for a moment thought that she had stepped over the line, before he grinned slightly.

"I guess I may be… I've been with this family for a long time, have seen the boys grow up and now… there's another generation of the Renaldi family… and I'm interested to see what she's like… don't tell me that you're not the slightest bit curious about her as well?" he looked at her with twinkling eyes and she blushed slightly.

"Alright… I may be a little curious…" she admitted with a responding smile.

"Well, it's just after three now, so we don't have to wait too long now…." Before he looked at his watch, glanced back towards the stairs and turned back that way.

"Where are you going now?"

"I'm just going to make sure that she's alright," he said simply and Charlotte could only grin broadly at his back- he was so solicitous of her, it was very, very sweet...and hopefully not too obvious to other people….

0

The Queen was pacing the living room of her suite, glancing out the window every time she reached the window- it was just after three, she still had to walk from the school, about fifteen minutes away, to the consulate, so she was being ridiculous… but she was still curious, nervous and excited about finally meeting her only grandchild.

There was a soft tap on her door and she paused for a moment to call out "Come in" before she continued pacing- she knew who it would be, it wouldn't be Charlotte as she was downstairs and the rest of the consulate staff were around the place and out in the garden, preparing for the afternoon tea.

"I just came to see if you were alright," Joseph said in his familiar husky voice as he slipped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

"I'm fine, fine… just a little nervous…. Which sounds silly, coming from me."

"Why does it sound silly?"

"I'm Queen of a country, I should be calm and unflappable… and being nervous about meeting my granddaughter…"

"A granddaughter who you have never met before," he reminded her quietly. "A granddaughter who is Phillipe's daughter… and someone who may have many of his features…."

"I know, I know, I'm being ridiculous," she continued pacing before he stopped her by grabbing both her hands and squeezing them gently.

"You're not being ridiculous, you're being human- and I can well understand why you are nervous about meeting Amelia."

"But I shouldn't be."

"But it's perfectly natural, and you shouldn't be getting yourself in such a state just before she gets here."

"What if she doesn't like me?" she pulled away one of her hands to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and touched one of her earrings with a tugging motion.

"Now you are being ridiculous," he teased her gently before leaning over and gently kissing her forehead. "She will like you… she will love you…"

"You're just being biased," Clarisse blushed slightly as she pulled away from him completely and nervously smoothed down the skirt of her black suit.

"Aren't I allowed to be?" he teased and she finally looked up at him and their eyes met and held.

"No… and you should be down in the garden, doing a final check of the garden before she arrives," she reached out with one hand, pausing for a moment and then finally deciding to take a chance as she reached over and touched his cheek gently for a moment.

"Aye, aye, boss," he said, pulling her hand away from his cheek and gently pressing his lips onto her hand. "But are you sure you're alright?"

"Nervous, but fine… and thank you," she gave him a gracious smile but there was something more in her smile.

"You will be fine… and she will like you."

"I hope so, Joseph, I hope so."


	11. San Francisco (Part Two)

_Hi- sorry it's been awhile but I haven't been able to access the internet-hopefully that will be remedied very soon! Thank you to all my readers and reviewers- I'm still out here!_

 _The Princess Diaries_

From the moment Charlotte set eyes on Amelia Thermopolis that first afternoon, she had the sense that this teenager had the potential to be the future of Genovia- that she could _actually_ be the next Queen, if she accepted her new role.

She was struck at how similar the girl looked to her father- her eyes, smile, brown hair- and from the few words she uttered, she seemed polite and respectful but Charlotte had no time to make any additional judgements (not that she would actually make any judgements about this teenage girl who had no idea about what her grandmother was about to tell her) but she couldn't feel sympathetic toward her before mentioning that Her Majesty would be 'right down'…

"I don't need a moment, I'm here," came the Queen's brisk voice from the staircase and they both turned to see Her Majesty come down the stairs and Charlotte suddenly realised that she was witnessing the first meeting between grandmother and granddaughter, which was touching, but she couldn't help but feel a frisson of apprehension as well…

0

"How did it go?" Charlotte asked quietly an hour later when Joseph came through her study- she had stayed out in the garden for a little while after the older woman and the teenager had settled at the table, but she had felt that there were already enough people hovering about the table (consulate staff and security- she could see Joseph wandering casually down from the house, hovering near some of the bushes directly behind the girl) and she didn't want to overwhelm the girl- she was already going to be told something she hadn't expected, so she had crept back into her study, she still had more planning to do in regards to the State dinner.

"Not particularly well," Joseph said calmly. "The young lady was… surprised, if that is the word, and she ran off- I take it that you didn't see her come through here?"

"No, I was on the phone- where is Her Majesty now?"

"Out in the garden… I have a feeling that you will be quite busy with note taking her ideas in regards to the garden- I think that she wants to improve the garden while we're here," he teased gently and she smiled at him.

"It is rather bare," Charlotte acknowledged. "Anyway… what will happen with Miss Thermopolis?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," Joseph frowned. "Her Majesty wants me to be security for her when Her Majesty is here at the consulate, although I'm not sure that it's going to work…."

"It will work, she doesn't have that many public appearances here in San Francisco, and I'm sure that Miss Thermopolis only has school and her after school job…."

"Charlotte?" they suddenly heard Her Majesty's voice and they turned to see Her Majesty strolling into her study towards them.

"Your Majesty," Charlotte immediately stood up.

"I'm going to need your help…Joseph's as well," she acknowledged him with a brief look. "This afternoon didn't go very well, and we need to brainstorm some ideas to try and get my granddaughter to return to the consulate…. There is so much I need to do before I'm able to present her to the press and the public at the Independence Day Ball."

"Such as?" Joseph asked, sounding wary- the vulnerable woman who had been nervous about meeting her granddaughter two hours ago had disappeared, replaced by the pragmatic, practical Queen who was considering her country first, rather than her granddaughter. Even Charlotte was a little taken aback at how calm and collected the Queen was and how she was considering her granddaughter in terms of what needed to be 'done'.

"She is a very attractive young lady but… there are some aspects of her appearance that need to be…tampered down a little."

"Alright…." Joseph said slowly as Charlotte took a notebook and pen and starting making notes. "But you're not going to do a complete makeover, are you?" His tone was wary, with a tiny note of apprehension and the Queen looked at him in surprise for a moment before she realised that his expression and concern were real.

"No, Joseph, I'm not," she said reassuringly. "I also need to start giving her some lessons in palace protocol and the history of Genovia… I'm not going to push her too hard, but there are some things that need to be addressed."

"But how are you sure that she is going to accept the title? From what I saw before, she didn't handle the news too well…."

"I know," Her Majesty suddenly wilted a little at Joseph's words. "I know that it was something that she obviously didn't expect but…. she doesn't know the urgency of the situation back in Genovia."

"And you probably shouldn't inform her of that almost immediately," Joseph said gently as Charlotte stopped writing and just listened to the conversation- she felt that she was suddenly invisible and the conversation was mainly between the Queen and Joseph. "But you cannot force her to make a decision that affects the rest of her life," Joseph said gently. "I know you wouldn't have chosen this life for your sons if you could have, so you need to allow her to make the decision for herself."

"So… what should I do?" the Queen suddenly looked lost and vulnerable again, and Charlotte suddenly spoke up:

"You need to meet her on her terms, on her territory- being here, in the consulate, a place she has never been before probably contributed to whatever happened this afternoon…she may have felt a little overwhelmed…"

"Especially considering that she had never met you before, having heard of you only via letters and Christmas cards and presents," Joseph added quietly.

"Perhaps, you could call Helen Thermopolis and arrange to go around to their house tomorrow morning and talk it out."

She suddenly stopped, realising that she had probably spoken out of turn but when she met Joseph's eyes, he was giving her a grin- he clearly approved- before she finally looked at Her Majesty and found that she too was giving her a smile.

"I think you are absolutely right, Charlotte- it is precisely what I should do… thank you."

00000

The time in San Francisco seemed to fly by- Charlotte was flat out planning for the State Dinner as well as the Independence Day ball, but because the Queen was running the country in a different country, her workload had almost doubled, through sending faxes and papers through special overnight delivery, as well as keeping in touch with the press secretary in Genovia and what was going on Genovia, but she didn't mind that.

She also was also a witness to the deepening relationship between the Queen and her granddaughter and the lessons that both of them were learning as Amelia (or Mia, as she preferred to be called) wrestled with her decision to accept the title and role of Crown Princess of Genovia and the fact that she would be the next in line to the throne.

While the 'lessons' with the Queen took up much of the afternoons (and they had been called 'lessons' when the deal had been struck between the Queen and Mia on the morning the Queen had gone to Mia's house to discuss the situation), Charlotte was also secretly pleased to witness a moment between Joseph and the Queen, soon after Mia's first dancing lesson, two days after she had found out about her heritage.

She had seen the young girl leave for the day, and she assumed that Joseph had returned to the security hub, so she had gone to see what Her Majesty needed from her now, but instead of finding Her Majesty signing papers, or about to return to her study, she found her dancing… with Joseph!

" _You've been wearing black far too long,"_ he murmured in a husky voice as he turned the CD player back on and the Queen gave him a wry smile before allowing herself to be led out onto the ballroom floor. Charlotte crept backwards out of the room, but she couldn't help but pause for a moment out of the doorway and watch them dance- it took her breath away, to see the elegance and smoothness of their dancing movements, they seemed so in sync with each other, it was unbelievable if she hadn't suspected something between them before, but this dance just proved to Charlotte that there was something going on between them… that it was reciprocated was even more wonderful….

Joseph's comment had obviously had some weight with Her Majesty for, the next morning when Charlotte met her in her study, instead of the usual sombre black suit and black silk scarf she had been wearing daily since the accident, Her Majesty was wearing a purple patterned suit and matching silk blouse, making herself look younger and more youthful than she had been in quite a while. Charlotte approved thoroughly, although she couldn't say so, and she could sense Joseph approved when he came into the study halfway through their meeting, judging by the elation flaring in his eyes as well as the small smile that followed the expression.

"Good morning, Your Majesty, you look lovely this morning," he said politely and the Queen couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning, Joseph. Thank you- I decided to take some advice that I was given yesterday."

"I'm glad that you did," he responded, leaning over and pressing his lips onto her hand before they both remembered that Charlotte was in the room but when they both looked at her, Charlotte was still looking down at her notebook, seemingly having not seen anything at all.

Mia's makeover was equally successful- Charlotte knew that Joseph had been worried that he Queen would try and change the young teenager too much (which confirmed that he had concern for the young teenager, as a father or grandfather would), but despite the overdramatic gestures and chatting from Paolo, the Queen's trusted makeup and hair stylist, the changes were more minimal that even Charlotte had expected- and the changes were for the best, the young girl suddenly looked more like a young woman, a princess and a future Queen, and the lessons afterward continued her 'improvement', especially in regards to her confidence in public speaking.

The presence of the teenager in the Queen's life had also made the world of difference to the Queen herself- before they had come to San Francisco, she had been quiet and withdrawn, a little sad and distant (which was perfectly understandable, considering what had occurred within the past few years), but now, as she slowly got to know her granddaughter, the distance and sadness was drifting away somewhat, and while she was still quiet, there was a new contentment and peace about her that Charlotte instantly attributed to her granddaughter, as well as Joseph.

"She's coming alive again," Joseph said to her one day as they watched Queen and Princess (although she had yet to accept the title- the Independence Day ball was the deadline) practicing walking in a 'crowd' (they were the crowd, as well as a few of the other palace staff). "Phillipe would be so relieved…."

Of course, the inevitable downside had to come when Paolo sold the story of Mia being a Princess to the press and the press began to stalk the school she attended, as well as her own home and even around the consulate. Her Majesty had been furious about the 'slip up' and she had made it perfectly clear in the press statement that was released in San Francisco as well as Genovia that the young teenager _"deserved her privacy and will be expected to receive it, despite her new knowledge about her family and heritage."_

According to Sebastian, the parliament in Genovia wasn't particularly pleased about the situation, some loudly arguing that it wasn't possible for a teenager to become the next Queen of Genovia, but the Queen wasn't bothered by the statements.

"Ridiculous! They are always causing trouble by making statements that make no sense- and while Sebastian didn't tell me who it was, I have a feeling I know who it was that made that statement."

Charlotte had to admit that the parliament was being ridiculous about the press interest surrounding Amelia (and their comments reflected this, they wanted to have the press interest focused back on them), but she was also concerned about the additional pressure the press was adding to the teenager's shoulders. She had only known her a week or so, and really didn't have much time to talk to her, but Mia was always cheerful, always calling out 'hello' when she came into the consulate in the afternoons for her princess lessons and stopping to chat with her on occasion and Charlotte had to admit to herself that she liked her for herself and that she also hoped that she made the decision that was right for her- and that didn't necessarily be becoming the newest Crown Princess.

She had coped with the press onslaught fairly well, but the first time she would actually meet members of parliament and attend an official function was the State Dinner… and while the Queen and Joseph had expressed their confidence in the girl, and she herself believed in Mia, she had from the beginning, Charlotte couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about the dinner and what could happen…


	12. San Francisco (Part Three)

_A/N: Thank to all my readers and reviewers- I'm glad that you're all enjoying it._

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me._

There were several State Dinners held at the palace every year, hosting visiting ambassadors, diplomats and head of states from around the world (and often during negotiating procedures between governments) and this dinner in San Francisco was no different- Her Majesty was hosting the Japanese Ambassador as well as the Scottish Ambassador, being involved in trade negotiations with both countries, and there were several couples who had flown from Genovia, representing parliament (Sebastian Motaz and his wife) and not (the ubiquitous Von Trokans) so the consulate was full in the late afternoon of the State Dinner when Charlotte greeted the young teenager upon her arrival and whisked her upstairs to where Paolo was waiting to 'work his magic' on both her and her grandmother. Her Majesty was still downstairs with the Prime Minister and the two ambassadors, but Charlotte, upon bringing Mia into the Queen's suite, reassured her that she would up soon.

"Charlotte?" Mia sounded like a little girl again and Charlotte, who had almost been at the door, preparing to head back downstairs to finish overseeing preparations for the dinner, hearing the tone in her voice, turned back.

"Yes, Miss Am… Mia?" She had been told by the girl several times that she wanted to be called Mia and Charlotte tried to remember, although she always called her 'Miss Amelia' whenever the Queen was around.

"About tonight…is there anything else I should know?"

"Anything… you should know?"

"Joe told me that I will enter the room unaccompanied, and that I will meet everyone either through you or Sebastian Motaz… but… is there any way I should act?" Mia looked vulnerable and Charlotte suddenly felt sorry for her- this was very unfair to have happened to her; sure, her father had passed away unexpectedly and he was the Crown Prince of Genovia, but… this poor girl hadn't asked for any of this but suddenly she had all this pressure on her, and Charlotte honestly didn't know how she would react if she was in Mia's shoes.

"I know I should ask Grandma, but…" she wavered again and Charlotte suddenly knew what she wanted to tell her.

"Just be yourself," Charlotte said simply, stepping forward, closer to the teenager- she could hear Paolo in the next room and knew that he was about to come in, but she wanted to say this to her. "Don't pretend to be someone you're not- just be yourself," and Mia, sensing the intensity behind her words, gave her a small, grateful smile just as Paolo and his assistants came bursting into the room and Charlotte beat a hasty retreat out of the royal suite.

She almost collided with Joseph when she stepped off the bottom step- Her Majesty clearly wasn't too far away, she could hear voices echoing through the consulate, growing closer and closer.

"Is she here?"

"Yes, upstairs, getting ready."

"How is she?" and there was no mistaking the tender concern in his voice- he did care about the vulnerable teenager, obviously seeing her father in her and his concern and interest in the Prince had passed onto another generation.

"She's nervous about what will happen tonight… you told her a few things about tonight, and she asked me… how she should behave tonight."

"What did you say to her?" he asked.

"I said to be herself, not to pretend to be someone she's not," Charlotte said simply and Joseph only regarded her calmly before he nodded his head in approval.

"That is the best advice you could have given her…good thinking, Charlotte."

0

The evening didn't necessarily go to plan- Mia accidently set a fellow diner's coat sleeve on fire, broke a wine glass, ate ice cream too quickly and caused a chain of events that ended with the Prime Minister's face in his dessert but, on a more positive note, made the morose Japanese Ambassador laugh- and it was Charlotte who realised she was missing when the rest of the group adjourned for coffee.

"Mia?" she asked softly, bending down and lifting up a side of the tablecloth to find Mia huddled up underneath the table.

"Oh, oh, Charlotte! I'm sorry!" she started, slowly making her way out and standing up. "I… I didn't think that everyone would have gone so soon…."

"They're in the Grand Hall having coffee… Her Majesty will notice that you're not there."

"I kind of hoped she wasn't going to notice," Mia's shoulders visibly dropped. "I was kind of hoping that you were here to say that I could go home."

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said sympathetically. "I would if I could, but I can't."

"That's okay," Mia let out her breath and then took another deep breath in and straightened her shoulders again. "Well, I had better go and face the music," before she walked out of the dining room and into the hallway, Charlotte following and thinking that she was the bravest teenager that she knew.

The dinner finally drew to a close around eleven o'clock, Joseph having taken Mia home an hour or so earlier, but Charlotte had been in a corner and had noticed that the Queen had intercepted the two of them leaving, speaking quietly to the young girl in a quiet voice and that the girl, as she had left, looked upset and Joseph displeased.

She was about to retire for the evening when she realised that she needed to check the schedule for the following day and made a retreat to the study (thankfully all the guests had retired to their rooms) but she paused outside the study door when she heard low voices inside, almost arguing, and she peered around the crack in the door to see Joseph and the Queen in there, the Queen standing next to her desk and Joseph standing close to her….

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't have told her what you thought, what could be 'improved' but you shouldn't have said it tonight… she was tired, embarrassed and upset."

"She had to know what I felt about the situation… I could see that she was embarrassed when she came into the Grand Hall and the way she avoided me…"

"Clarisse, she's only fifteen! She is only just beginning to discover herself as a teenager in the modern world, and now her life has been complicated by…."

"Me? Are you saying that my presence in her life is a complication?" the Queen snapped in a not so quiet voice.

"No, I did NOT say that," he argued, stepping closer to her as she stepped back. "I'm just saying that….this situation is not as easily contained and controlled as you think it might be."

"So, what do I do, Joseph?" she asked in a softer voice and this time, when Joseph stepped forward, she remained in her spot. "Did you see how some of them were looking at her tonight? The Von Trokans?" and there was genuine despair in her voice.

"Don't worry about them," he said roughly. "They're trouble makers and they don't know what they're talking about half the time anyway- they're just obsessed with trying to get a seat in parliament."

"That's true… but… Joseph…what do I do?"

"Don't worry," he said, tenderness in his voice but he was trying to hide it by being gruff, although the way he reached out and held her shoulders with his arms.

"Just don't worry, things will work out in their own good time."

"I hope so," she said and Charlotte turned away as he pulled the Queen towards him- she had seen enough, they deserved their privacy, the schedule could wait until the morning….

0

"Joseph?" Clarisse finally said as she pulled away from his embrace, his familiar aftershave still lingering in her nose.

"Yes… Your Majesty?" his voice rumbled and his eyes never left hers- he was still standing closely near her and he could see that he was half serious and half teasing (almost flirtatious) so she decided, recklessly, almost on the spur of the moment, decided to respond in kind.

"I have a confession to make."

"Oh," he raised his eyebrow, intrigued- _she had a confession to make? What could it be?_

"Tonight, at dinner… I know I told Mia off before and while there were points I felt she needed to know… a mistake, I realise in retrospect," she added hastily as Joseph opened his mouth to protest. "I shouldn't have done what did, I know that now."

"So… is that your confession?"

"No, I haven't finished yet… I wasn't angry about tonight's incidents, I actually found it rather amusing."

"Amusing? How so?" Joseph was surprised- she hadn't seem very amused when chiding her granddaughter earlier in the evening, and the evening hadn't seemed very amusing to him at all.

"It… it just reminded me of my first state dinner before the wedding… I collided with a suit of armour at the Winter Palace (and yes, I'm aware that they are no longer there, that was part of Rupert's redecoration scheme) and a sword went right through the suckling pig that was being carried into the dining room… the King found it amusing but Rupert and the Queen were mortified and I was severely dressed down afterwards."

"It wasn't your fault, you were only young," he felt a wave of protectiveness towards the young Princess to be.

"I know, but while you took Mia home, I got to recalling that night and… I knew that I hadn't been very fair to Mia before… that and your annoyed expression."

"I was just annoyed that you had chosen to reprimand her…"

"I agree, it was a mistake….. It's just that…." she sighed as she turned away from him and looked out the window into the darkened consulate garden. "It's just that… this pressure… certain members of parliament and the press clamouring for decisions or scandals- as if to prove that I'm not capable of ruling Genovia… it's… getting a little…wearing."

"I can see why it would be getting that way," he said huskily, moving closer, ready to comfort her but when she turned around, her royal mask was back in place, a royal mask that was all too familiar but one that he had managed to break down on occasion- and thankfully, in private.

"Good night, Joseph- I'm sorry to have kept you for so long."

"It's fine, Your Majesty….Clarisse," he corrected himself and his eyes softened at the word- he knew that she preferred to be known by her first name with those she dealt with on a regular basis, a response to the formality that King Rupert had insisted on, before Joseph forced himself back to the present, realising that Clarisse was waiting for a response from him.

"Good night, Clarisse," he responded softly, lifting her hand up to kiss it, and he could feel her trembling at his touch. "May I give you a suggestion?"

"Of course?"

"Tomorrow, when Miss Mia is here, don't have any lessons as such… just have some time for the two of you… and also, that you should tell her what you told me tonight, about your first state dinner- that might help her feel better."

"Do you really think that might help?"

"I think so, I definitely think so."

000

The next morning began normally enough, with the Queen emerging from her suite in a peach coloured suit and looking happier and more relaxed that she had been in the past couple of months- it was clear Mia's presence was something of a tonic for her- and while Joseph was still as professional as ever, Charlotte sense that he was obviously softening towards both the teenager and her grandmother, not that he hadn't been doing that before.

As usual, the guests had their own demands for the day and the Queen's time, but Sebastian insisted on taking them on a tour of San Francisco, something which Charlotte appreciated- it would give the Queen and Miss Mia some time for themselves; at first they were in the greenhouse, watering the flowers (Her Majesty tried to spend as much time in the greenhouse every day just to water her flowers, she had always loved gardening) but when Charlotte had come into the room, announcing that there were further arrivals to the consulate, as well as the press secretary in Genovia wanting to speak to her, she glimpsed a look of dismay on the younger woman's face- and it was clear that Her Majesty had seen it too as, seconds later, she made an impulsive decision to cancel all meetings for the day and have a tour of San Francisco.

The delight on Mia's face was obvious to all, although her following words alarmed them:

"I want to show you my baby."

'Baby?' Charlotte murmured to herself before Mia, seeing the alarm on both women's faces, amended her words:

"No, no, it's not actually a baby, as if… it's my car, my Mustang…" and both Charlotte and the Queen let out their breaths in relief.

"Do you want me to let Joseph know that you're going out?" Charlotte asked and the Queen looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, before glancing back at Mia for a moment.

"Actually, Charlotte…he's in a meeting at the moment, so we won't disturb him… no, we'll be fine."

"Alright…" Charlotte said doubtfully- Joseph would be furious if he discovered the Queen had left the consulate without him, or even any security, and she would be in the line of fire….

Half an hour later… the explosion occurred as Joseph stormed into her study, a furious scowl on his face.

"Please tell me that they are still here, that what Scott was telling me was only a joke…" he began, stopping in front of her desk and glaring down at her.

"I'm sorry?" Charlotte was trying to finalise details for the ball that was to be held the following week, and she was more than a little distracted.

"HOW could you let Her Majesty and Miss Amelia 'take off' from the consulate in….a light blue Mustang that belongs to the Princess?" he persisted and Charlotte suddenly recalled what had happened- they had been gone for over half an hour and while she had tried to convince the Queen to at least have a bodyguard accompany them (albeit discreetly), but the Queen had simply waved her suggestion off with a light-hearted 'we'll be fine.'

"I tried…"

"You didn't try very hard," he almost barked at her. "Again, I will repeat myself- WHY did you let them go off by themselves?" Joseph was trying to remain calm as he paced in front of Charlotte's desk, but Charlotte could see that his temper was beginning to best him. "You know the protocol in regards to Her Majesty… if anything goes wrong…."

"I'm sure they will be fine," Charlotte tried to remain calm but she was feeling uneasy and Joseph wasn't helping.

"You DON'T know that!" Joseph suddenly stopped and glared at her. "If something happens to her, your job and MY job will be on the line… and I have to tell you, I would have serious doubts about whether continue recommending you to remain in your position…"

"I tried to…"

"You obviously didn't try hard enough!" he snapped, starting to pace again. "You should have insisted…"

"Could YOU have insisted on Her Majesty having security when she wanted to spend time with her granddaughter?" Charlotte finally had enough and snapped back at him, much to the surprise of both of them.

"I… uh… no, I probably couldn't have, knowing Her Majesty," he mumbled, looking sheepish. "But still…" he glared at her again and Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but I'm sure that they will be fine."

"I certainly hope so."

0

 _Wrong, wrong, wrong,_ Charlotte thought to herself an hour later when she saw the police car come to a stop in front of the front door and Joseph only glared at her as they walked towards the front door to meet the 'escapees'- Charlotte could only be grateful that the rest of the guests were still out on their tour of San Francisco, otherwise there would have been even more trouble.

"Joseph, Charlotte!" the Queen smiled happily at both of them as she was helped from the car through one of the police men, while a shamefaced Mia emerged from the other side of the car. "We're back."

"As we can see," Joseph said grimly, only just managing to keep his expression neutral. "However, I'm curious to know why…."

"Oh, the young lady's car brake line snapped and they crashed into a trolley car," one of the police men said, stepping forward and almost wilting under Joseph's glare as Charlotte stifled a gasp- it had been far worse than she imagined, and she was going to be really in the firing line with Joseph. "There were no injuries and everyone is fine…"

"Thank you very much for bringing us back to the consulate," the Queen said gaily, as she turned back towards the two policemen. "I truly appreciate what you did for us, and as a gesture of my appreciation, I would like to invite you two, your partners and the driver of the trolley car to the Independence Day Ball next week. If you would just leave your addresses with my assistant here," she waved her hand towards Charlotte. "She will forward the details of the ball to you."

"Thank you ma'am," both men looked dumbfounded at her charm and graciousness, and while Charlotte relaxed a little, Joseph's posture and expression hadn't changed at all.

"Charlotte," the Queen suddenly focused on her attention on Charlotte. "Could you arrange for one of the men to take Amelia home? Mia?" she suddenly turned to the teenager, who had walked slowly around the car to stand beside her, avoiding looking at Joseph or Charlotte but looking up at her grandmother. "Thank you for this afternoon, I had a very enjoyable time- see you tomorrow?"

"O…alright, Grandma. I had a good time as well," Mia finally smiled at her grandmother and shot a look at Joseph before the smile slipped off her face as Charlotte slipped back into the consulate to get an escort for Mia while the police stepped back into their car and drove away. "I'll see you tomorrow…"

"May I see you in your study, Your Majesty?" Joseph finally managed to say as the Queen almost brushed past him as one of the bodyguards came out of the front door- Mia's escort, presumably- and both the girl and the bodyguard walked towards the garage.

"Of course, Joseph," Clarisse said gently and walked back through the consulate, Joseph almost on his heels, the tension almost radiating from him, and as soon as she stepped into her study, Joseph followed her and slammed the door behind her.

"Joseph… what?" Clarisse turned around, looking startled- and her surprise suddenly heightened into apprehension as he moved closer to her.

"Do you have ANY IDEA how much trouble you caused this afternoon?" he growled in a low voice and Clarisse stepped backwards.

"I…."

"You know you're not supposed to leave the consulate without informing me and without being provided with adequate security."

"I…."

"You know that the precarious situation in Genovia is on a knife's edge and if anything happens to you here, that the situation will be... even more precarious?"

"I know that…."

"There are protocols in place for your SAFETY, not for the sake of our health…" he continued talking in a low, angry voice and Clarisse, who had been rather surprised to begin with, had been listening to him with growing anger herself, finally snapped.

"I am perfectly AWARE of all of that, Joseph, I am not a child!"

"Then why….?"

"Because I wanted to spend some time with my granddaughter, away from the consulate and all those that remind her of the decision that she has to make… and yes, that includes you and the rest of the bodyguards, Joseph."

"But…"

"NOTHING happened, Joseph, I'm back and I'm fine."

"But the accident… the car…."

"It was an accident, nothing more- unfortunate, I must agree with you, but it was an accident. Please, Joseph, don't ruin this day for me," her tone suddenly turned beseeching, her expression soft and gentle. "This was the first time I actually was able to connect to Mia without having princess lessons or being surrounded by others… Phillipe would have wanted it and… you said that I should give her some personal time myself…."

"Clarisse," his anger suddenly dissipated and he knew that she deserved at least a private afternoon with her granddaughter. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lecture you… but I was…worried and scared…"

"I know, I know," she stepped closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "I'm sorry too, I should have been more considerate of everyone here as well… I should have thought about you and the others…."

"It's alright, I'm glad that you're okay," he said gruffly, pulling her hand away from his shoulder and pressing his lips on top. "Just… don't do it again."

"I won't… I promise."


	13. The Independence Day Ball

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- finally back on a roll again!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

Charlotte thought that the rest of the trip would be easier, hoping that the hiccup of the state dinner, 'the big reveal' (thankfully, Paolo had been apologetic and mortified when the Queen had spoken to him) and the impromptu 'tour of San Francisco' that would be the only humps in the trip- but unfortunately, it had been an optimistic yet unrealistic view, with several more 'hiccups' occurring during the remaining week in San Francisco.

"It definitely sounds like that Miss Thermopolis could certainly shake the palace up if she ever comes to Genovia," Scott joked to Charlotte one day on the phone. "I hear that both she and Her Majesty are keeping you and Joe on your toes."

"Yes, well… it's actually more interesting when things are unexpected, rather than planned."

"I never thought that I would hear you say that- you, Charlotte Kutaway, who likes being organised and having lots of lists and schedules… you prefer the unexpected?" Scott couldn't help but tease.

"Well, when ensuring that Her Majesty's schedule run smoothly, I prefer to expect everything… but, with Miss Mia… I don't think I could bear to organise her life to the last second."

"You may have to one day, Char."

"I know- but I hope that I don't have to do that for a long time to come."

Unfortunately, Charlotte's enjoyment of the unexpected, in terms of Mia, suddenly disappeared in light of the 'Bega Beach Party' and the incident that was splashed over the newspapers the following morning.

Charlotte had received word early that morning that there would be a semi-nude picture of the princess on the front page of the San Francisco papers, and while she had already gone into 'damage control', she knew that the Queen would have to be informed of anything before it was given to the press… and she also knew that she would be furious, an assumption that proved correct when, with a thunderous expression, she stormed into her study just after breakfast. Charlotte herself was grateful that she hadn't been the one to inform Her Majesty of the next 'scandal' with her granddaughter, she wasn't quite sure how she would have dealt with her earlier in the morning.

"Where are the papers, Charlotte?" she snapped, seating herself behind her desk and reaching for her glasses.

"Right in front of you, ma'am."

"Have you already prepared a statement for the press?"

"Yes ma'am, I'll bring it into you right now."

"Where is Joseph?"

"He's gone to pick up…Mia and take her to school."

"Call him and ask him to bring her here- I need to speak to her at once."

"Yes ma'am," and Charlotte quietly slipped out of the room without another word.

The scene between granddaughter and grandmother was brief but brutal- Charlotte made sure she was well aware from the study after Mia had arrived, but she could tell that it had been just that when Mia almost crept out of the room, her expression downhearted and her eyes on the floor.

"Good morning, Miss Mia," Charlotte said sympathetically, wanting the girl to know that she was cared about.

"Good morning, Charlotte… although, is it really?" she met Charlotte's eyes for a moment and Charlotte could see the shame and mortification in her eyes- she was not only embarrassed for the royal family and her grandmother, but she was humiliated herself and Charlotte's sympathy increased. She hadn't asked to be betrayed by her so called 'friends' (not that they were, according to Joseph's ever reliable sources) and the tricks that they had played on her (the public kiss with the teenage boy and the pulling down of the tent while she was changing) were downright cruel, and for a moment, Charlotte could feel tears in her own eyes.

"Well… there's only another week or so until school is out," Charlotte began encouragingly. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"

"Hopefully crawl under a rock and stay there for the rest of my life," she muttered sullenly and Charlotte was about to try and cheer her up again when Joseph came out of the study- he had been hidden around a corner, obviously at the Queen's suggestion, to witness the scene- and Charlotte wasn't surprised to see that he didn't look happy, but not as angry as he had been after the state dinner.

"We'd better go, Miss Mia- you don't want to miss any more classes."

"I think I would prefer to miss the rest of the day completely," Mia murmured softly and Joseph and Charlotte exchanged a look before the teenager walked quietly out of the room, Joseph following behind.

000

Communications between the Queen and her granddaughter remained minimal for the rest of the week, and while Joseph and Charlotte had their hushed discussions about how they could improve matters, they had come to the conclusion that it would better if the Queen approached her granddaughter (or vice versa) without any inside interference.

"Of course, if Miss Mia is anything like her father (and her grandmother), there could be a long wait for one or the other of them to break- both Clarisse and Phillipe could be incredibly stubborn when they wanted to be," and there was no mistaking the tenderness in his voice.

"But… the ball…Miss Mia's decision…"

"Don't worry, Charlotte- one of them will come around, it's only a matter of time," Joseph looked at her with a confident smile and Charlotte hoped that he was right.

Of course he was right, he was always right. The afternoon of the ball (with no contact between the royals, although Helen Thermopolis had called to confirm that they would both attend the ball), the Queen emerged from her study, carrying a diplomatic pouch, a pouch that had only just arrived the day before and what Charlotte knew to contain a red leather diary that Phillipe had made for Mia for her sixteenth birthday, a tradition that had been going on for generations.

"Ma'am?"

"Charlotte, I'm going to see Mia- yes, Joseph is waiting outside for me- so can you keep things going here while I'm gone? I should only be gone an hour?"

"Of course," Charlotte said quietly, knowing that it was a loaded visit- not only would she be presenting the teenager her birthday present from her father, but also to discover what decision she had made in regards to accepting the title of Crown Princess of Genovia. "Good luck," she said softly as the Queen made her way towards the door, before the Queen paused and turned to smile back at her, knowing exactly what she meant.

00000

In the months to come, Charlotte looked back at the time in San Francisco and wondered how she could have ever thought it would be simple and predictable to convince Phillipe's daughter to accept a title and responsibilities she had little idea about as well as returning to a country she had barely heard about, but only as the homeland of her father… Charlotte had been a little over optimistic, although she knew, deep down, that _nothing_ was ever that simple when dealing with royalty, teenagers and parliament- and the last fortnight had proved that. She hadn't expected the hiccups but she had gotten to know and like the potential Crown Princess (and she knew that Joe, balancing his commitment and loyalty to Clarisse, as well as his growing affection for Mia, felt the same way) and she also knew that the Queen was happy to have established a growing relationship with her granddaughter, although it was tempered by her anxiety (well hidden, of course) over Mia's decision about whether she would 'accept' the title or not… and the inquiries in regards to that had been increasing on a daily basis, both from the guests that were continuing to arrive from Genovia as well as the press (Genovian press specifically) but all Charlotte could say, as instructed: "We'll know by the evening of the ball."

But when the Queen returned to the consulate later that afternoon after visiting her granddaughter- and thankfully the guests for that evening were either upstairs getting dressed or at their hotels- Charlotte could sense, despite the elegant way she had set her shoulders and the warm smile on her face, that all their hopes for the Crown and Mia had come to nil (disappointing, yet natural, considering the nature of teenagers) and the consequences were now what they had thought as disastrous were now a reality.

Joseph, who had been following closely behind her, shook his head briefly, confirming what Charlotte had surmised from the Queen's demeanour, and Charlotte focused her attention back on Her Majesty, who had been asking if there had been anything going on in her absence and, pleased to discover that there hadn't been anything going on, announced that she was going upstairs to get dressed for the evening.

"Does this mean….?" Charlotte inquired in a low voice when the Queen had disappeared and Joseph nodded.

"Yes, but we'll think about that tomorrow, we're going to have to get through tonight as best we can."

"Will… Mia come anyway?"

"I think so…she has to, to confirm her decision to the press- she said to Clarisse that she would, so she will."

0

The next few hours seemed to fly by in moments, but Charlotte, despite being incredibly busy dealing with the press and the guests (the Von Trokans in particular, were skulking around the room, looking sullen but she could sense their eagerness for the news that they suspected was coming), could still remember almost every moment of the evening.

"Where is Miss Mia?" Sebastian inquired and Charlotte, who had been ensuring that the orchestra had been set up in the corner of the ball room, looked around in surprise.

"Why? Isn't she here with her mother?" but she could see that Helen and her date had arrived, but there was no Mia with her. "I'll just go check with Joseph…." and Joseph confirmed her biggest fear: _"She's going to run."  
_

"Why would she do that?" Charlotte asked, although she suspected she knew why.

"I'm not sure but I think it's because she is scared…" he glanced at his watch. "Charlotte, I'm going to go and find her- Her Majesty doesn't need to know anything, stall her from making any announcements or doing any interviews… I should be back before too long," before glancing over his shoulder again and, noting that Her Majesty was absorbed in conversation with the Motazes, hurried out of the room.

Of course, the clouds that had been building all afternoon finally opened and the downpour that followed created complications, in such that she couldn't reach Joseph on the mobile, finding out what was happening, and she had just hung up the phone when she sensed that Her Majesty was standing behind her.

" _Charlotte, is there a problem?"_

" _No, no problem… everything's fine… everything's perfect,"_ Charlotte stammered, her nerves and worry over what had happened to Joseph and Mia spilling forth, despite her efforts to remain calm- and the Queen somehow sensed that she was lying, as she watched her with an amused smile.

" _Charlotte… you're not very good at lying…"  
_

 _"I know,"_ Charlotte looked down at her shoes for a moment, feeling ashamed.

" _But the garden… looks lovely,"_ she added and Charlotte looked up to see the Queen giving her a warm smile and Charlotte felt a little better. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to command that you tell me?"

"Well… I…."

"It's about Joseph and Mia, isn't it? Joseph isn't here and I have already seen that Helen and her friend are here, but Mia didn't come upstairs, so….?"

"I'm not quite sure what's going on, I can't get him on the phone, but…."

"All we can do is wait and see," Her Majesty concluded with a calm smile, but for a moment, Charlotte saw an uneasy expression cross the Queen's face.

For a moment, a little later, Charlotte honestly thought that Mia had disappeared and Joseph's best efforts had come to nil (and she couldn't help but feel very disappointed in the teenager, she had thought that she would have at least come to make the announcement herself), as Her Majesty gathered herself together, preparing to make the statement that Mia should have maid, when a consulate staff member came and whispered in her ear- Joseph had sent her, and she was needed out in the kitchen….

Afterwards, the evening seemed to flow smoothly- the teenager officially became the Crown Princess of Genovia, the Queen was pleased and proud and the press surrounded them once Mia had changed, the two of them had walked into the ballroom together and then there was the first official dance, Sebastian with the Queen and Mia with… for a moment it had looked like there was no one… and then Michael Moscovitz stepped out of the crowd and the look on Princess Mia's face was one that Charlotte wouldn't forget in a hurry.

The other major moment of the evening was when Joseph cut in on Sebastian and the Queen, and the Queen's expression was one of happiness and relaxation- and Charlotte was pleased and relived for them- finally, finally, things had fallen into place! Hopefully now, things wouldn't be quite so complicated…..


	14. Plans and Gossip

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

The evening went well into the early hours of the morning- when members of parliament wanted to party, they really wanted to party- and Charlotte was delighted to see that the Princess and her friends partied as hard as the others and that most of the guests enjoyed dancing with and around the princess and her friends.

"I've never had such a great time in my life!" Lord Palimore chortled happily and almost breathlessly as he and his wife passed her by on their way to bed when the evening finally ended. "We should have some more of these type of parties at the palace!"

"I agree with you," Sebastian and Sheila were right behind them- Mia, Lily, Michael and her mother had long since gone home, Mia thanking Charlotte profusely.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I know you're all going back to Genovia tomorrow, so I probably won't see you until I fly over… but thank you for everything," before she impulsively leaned forward and gave Charlotte a hug, surprising the older woman momentarily before she responded in turn. "I just wish I had seen Grandma before… do you know where she went?"

"Her Majesty will probably call by your house before we go the airport," Charlotte said, avoiding the other question- she did know where the Queen had gone, much, much earlier in the evening, but she wasn't going to say a word.

Once the music had changed and the dancing had become less formal, Charlotte had been standing near the doorway and watching the scene around her when she had noticed Joseph walk up to the Queen, who was also standing alone in one corner of the room, whisper something in her ear and gently guided her out of the room.

Charlotte had then peered around the doorway and watched Joseph dismiss the men at the door with a flick of his hand and then, seconds later, reach over and take Her Majesty's gloved hand in hers (and it was clearly a surprise to her) and press it to her lips before looping it through his arm and the two of them turned the corner, out of sight and Charlotte turned her attention back to the party- they deserved their privacy, especially now more than ever.

"I think that we will have to discuss the idea with Her Majesty," Sheila brought Charlotte back to the present and Charlotte nodded with a smile.

"Yes, I think so… although she may approve on occasion… particularly when the princess is in residence."

"Yes, I think that it may lighten the atmosphere of the palace for her if some of the parties are less… stifled," Sebastian said with a small frown and Charlotte realised that he too was concerned about the new princess- which was a good thing, as Charlotte suspected that that she was going to need all the supporters she could get.

000

The next morning, the consulate was a hive of activity as the consulate staff and security teams began preparing for the Queen's departure back to Genovia mid- morning. Although she had gone to bed well after midnight, Charlotte was up bright and early, overseeing the packing up of paperwork and other necessary papers in her study and the Queen's study.

"Good morning," Joseph said cheerfully as he strode into the room. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to catch a nap on the plane," Charlotte laughed.

"You should be able to do that- most of parliament and their wives are flying on Genovia 2 and 3; I believe it's only us and the Motazes on Genovia 1... Have you heard anything about the Von Trokans?" Even through the excitement of the scene the evening before with Mia and the press, Joseph had observed the Baron and Baroness storming out of the consulate (also with some valuable vases that, fortunately, the butler had managed to retrieve from him) and they hadn't been seen again that evening.

"Not a word, Joe, although I suspect that they will be waiting at the airport for us."

"Yes, I think that they will be there as well. Is Her Majesty up?"

"Yes, I am," came her voice from the doorway, and they turned to see Her Majesty striding confidently into the room, looking happy and relaxed. "Good morning Charlotte, good morning Joseph," she gave them both a warm smile and Charlotte looked at them closely, as if wanting to observe a change or an expression between them, but there was nothing, aside from a warm smile exchanged. "I hope that you both slept well."

"Indeed, although I'm looking forward to returning to Genovia and my old, uncomfortable bed," Joseph joked and both women laughed.

"Will there be time to stop and see Mia for a few minutes on our way to the airport?" the Queen inquired and Joseph nodded as he glanced at his watch.

"Absolutely, we can let the members of parliament wait a few more minutes in their limousines at the airport."

"Joseph!" the Queen chided but she was still chuckling along with him. "That's not nice!"

"Can't help it," he shrugged with a sly grin and Charlotte again had the feeling that they weren't aware of her presence in the room. "You know that about me."

"True," she mused, watching him for a few moments before she glanced over and realised that Charlotte was in the room (and hastily packing the last of the paperwork into her folders) and blushed, realising that there had been someone else in the room. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, we were being rude…"

"It's fine… Clarisse," Charlotte almost stumbled over the name. "I'm almost finished packing up these papers- I think the car will be waiting outside for you."

"Excellent- and will you be able to ride with me, there a few things we need to go over before we return to Genovia," the Queen suddenly turned professional again, as did Joseph and Charlotte was again flustered at how quickly they changed their demeanours- they were good, they were really good and discreet, and that was probably why their relationship, if there was a relationship to speak of (and Charlotte knew that there was one), was so quiet and undetected- and she hoped that it would remain so, at least until the new Princess became the new Queen of Genovia.

00000

The return trip to Pyrus was smooth and relatively quiet- of course, the Von Trokans managed to get onto Genovia 1 for the flight home, but they were thankfully further down the cabin than the Queen and Charlotte, and were busy talking to several other members of parliament, so there was no opportunities for them to try and wheedle an audience with the Queen, much to the relief of the Queen and Charlotte, although the Queen's expression didn't changed.

Thankfully, the Queen's schedule was going to be lighter than usual upon her return, with parliament being in recess for the summer and very few official visits, and Charlotte was relieved about that, particularly in respect to the Queen- the past few months had been incredibly full on and they all needed a break- and she sensed that Joseph was looking forward to little 'down time', more for the Queen herself than for himself.

Of course, the main event of the summer would be the mini coronation that would officially present Princess Mia as the Crown Princess, but Charlotte already knew that the Queen was intending on keeping the ceremony quiet and low key.

"There is no need to focus any more additional attention on Mia- she has already had an eventful few weeks in San Francisco and she doesn't need any more attention for a little while," was her reasoning as she and Sebastian discussed the plans during the flight, Charlotte as always taking notes, while Joseph was hovering a seat or two down, his attention bouncing from their meeting to the Von Trokans

"When is Her Royal Highness and her mother due to Genovia?" Sebastian inquired and it was Charlotte's turn to speak up, she already had all the necessary information, that was what she had been organising after the Independence Day Ball, in between preparing to returning to Genovia.

"School finishes in a week and we've arranged for them- and that includes the Moscovitzes- to fly in a couple of days after that…The coronation should be scheduled for a fortnight after that…"

"…And while you and I have agreed that she will be accompanying me to a few public appearances, this first trip should mainly be about getting used to Genovia and her history," Her Majesty said briskly as Charlotte continued taking notes.

"Have you decided whether Princess Mia will be having a tutor in Pyrus or will be returning to San Francisco to complete her education?"

"At the moment, I haven't decided what will happen in September- we'll see how the summer goes."

Once they landed back in Pyrus and travelled directly back to the palace (the rest of parliament returning to their respective homes), Her Majesty went upstairs to bed and while Charlotte wanted to go to bed herself, she knew that there was plenty that she had to do before the mini coronation.

"You're not going home for a rest?" Joseph had followed her into her office.

"I can't, I've got a lot to do before the Princess flies in."

"Which is not for ten days," he stood in front of her desk and folded his arms across his chest. "No, Charlotte, I insist that you go home and go to bed- it's been quite a few weeks and we all need a break."

"But…."

"Her Majesty would have approved… Go Home, Charlotte," he looked at her sternly and Charlotte gave a small grin.

"Okay, okay- I've been told."

"Good. Good night, Charlotte."

"Good night, Joseph."

000

"So, have you got any gossip from San Francisco?" Scott asked the next morning when Charlotte and Scott met in the kitchen, getting coffee. "Did any of our honoured members of parliament get drunk at the ball or at the dinner?"

"Not that I know of."

"What about the Princess? What is she really like?"

"You'll find out soon enough about her- she's a very nice young lady and I like her a lot. She's going to be a fine princess and a fine Queen…"

"I heard a few stories…."

"Who from?" Charlotte asked sharply- she couldn't imagine Joseph telling stories behind Princess Mia or the Queen's back, but who would tell stories from San Francisco- and Scott looked slightly surprised at her tone.

"From the press cuttings the press secretary sent back…why, who did you think I would heard from?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

"But… those stories that came back from the press… was it really as bad as that?" he looked curious and Charlotte shook her head.

"She's young and she still has so much to learn… but she's so sweet and eager and intelligent…"

"She sounds like her father."

"She is, in a lot of ways…but she's also like her grandmother as well."

"Speaking of…has there anything been happening with our favourite couple?" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully and she rolled her eyes and glanced around the kitchen to ensure that there was no one listening to them.

"Are you serious? Why would you ask something like that?"

"Well…. I suspect that something is going on…."

" _Shut up_ ," she hissed in a low voice, suddenly irritated. "You cannot assume anything like that- she is the Queen and he is her head of security…."

"They're also a man and a woman, both are single…."

"You are disgusting."

"Well….I probably should tell you this," he suddenly looked awkward and serious and Charlotte suddenly felt a tiny fission of apprehension.

"What?"

"The maids…" he trailed off and the apprehension in Charlotte grew at his words and his expression.

"What about the maids?" she demanded.

"Well… it's just that there have been a few whispers around the palace about the Queen and Joe…."

"Such as?"

"Charlotte. I really don't want to repeat what they've told me."

" _What?"_

"Well…. _"are they friends or are they more?"; "Was Her Majesty cheating on the King, as revenge?"; "He spends an awful lot of time in her presence, even when he doesn't have to be with her…"_ he trailed off in embarrassment.

"Oh no," Charlotte murmured to herself. "Who is saying this? Hopefully not members of staff?"

"Some of the staff… some of the distant staff members, not those who are here all the time… But some of my sources are informing me that there are discussions from certain members of parliament…"

"Oh no," Charlotte's voice lowered even more- _why on earth couldn't they leave the Queen alone? Surely she had suffered enough?_

"So… what do we do?"

Gone was the joking, curious second in charge- he too was well aware of the potential scandal of a potential relationship with the reigning monarch and a member of staff, most especially her handsome Head of Security. "Should I speak to Joseph?"

"Perhaps… It might be better coming from me," Charlotte said slowly, trying to think about how she was going to broach the subject with Joseph, particularly in regards to Her Majesty.

"Good luck with that," Scott said with a small smile, before it quickly disappeared again. "Did you need any back up?"

"No, I should be alright," she finished her coffee, set the cup on the table and, taking a deep breath in, walked towards the door. "Where is Joe, by the way?"

"He's been in his office since about six this morning…"

Thankfully, the security hub was almost empty when she stepped in and walked hastily towards the shut office door, knocking and then entering when bidden.

"Good morning, Charlotte- did you rest well?" Joseph said with a warm smile, standing up at her entrance- that was something he always did for the Queen and Charlotte had noticed that he also did it for her, another sign that he was a gentleman.

"Yes, I did, and you?"

"I did- I always rest well after travelling… so, what can I do for you this morning?" he indicated the seat opposite him and sat down after her. "Her Majesty isn't down yet, is she?"

"No, she told me that she wouldn't be coming down until after lunch, I just came in earlier to catch up on paperwork."

"But that's not what you're wanting to see me about, is it?" he joked with a grin and Charlotte suddenly felt sorry for him, it was clear that he had no idea about the rumours and the whispers.

"No… Joe, Scott was just telling me what had been happening back here," she started, half apologetically and Joseph's expression suddenly changed, to one of seriousness. "And I felt that I should come and speak to you…."

"Is this in regards to the comments parliament are making in terms of the Queen's closeness to me?"

"Yes, I…"

"And that certain members of the palace staff- not from here but from the Winter Palace- have been giving them little titbits?"

"I…yes…"

"I'm well aware of all the rumours, Charlotte, and I appreciate you coming and telling me about it… but rest assured, I am dealing with it."

"Yes, I…."

"I would also appreciate it if you didn't repeat any of this conversation- or what Scott told you- to Her Majesty."

"Of course, I wouldn't… May I ask what….?"

"It's best if you don't know too much… and could you send Scott into me as soon as you leave?"

"O…okay," she said, getting to her feet and turning towards the door before Joseph's voice stopped her again.

"Charlotte?"

"Yes?" she turned back to him again, a little fearful- his anger was something she didn't want to witness on too many occasions- but she was surprised to see that he was giving her a small smile.

"Thank you. I appreciate you coming to tell me what you heard…"

"It's no problem… Will you be telling… Her Majesty?"

"I think she's got enough on her plate, don't you, Charlotte?" his expression hardened momentarily. "No, I won't be telling her," and it was Charlotte's signal that she was dismissed- she only hoped that she hadn't got Scott into trouble….

000

"Did you rest well last night, Joseph?" Clarisse asked him later that afternoon when they met for a run down on the security activities while they were in San Francisco- she thought they had done well in regards to protecting both her and Mia, but Joseph was also seeking perfection.

"It's part of my job to ensure that everyone is fully trained and up to date with all the latest security updates in the world," he said when she had teased him about it on one occasion. "My top priority is to ensure that you are safe."

"Yes, I did sleep well," Joseph responded to her question, although his mind wasn't necessarily on the security briefing- he was concerned about the growing rumours about him and Clarisse. They had been discreet, he knew that, but he also knew that it was only a matter of time that attention would be focused on the amount of time that they spent together- and while he knew that he would have to pull away from Clarisse… Her Majesty… for a little while, just to dispel the rumour but the very thought of not being near her… he felt a little ache inside. "And you?"

"Very…" she looked at him for a moment- he seemed distracted and she wondered what was going on, but she wasn't going to push him. "Are you alright, Joseph?"

"Yes, I'm fine, just trying to catch up on what I missed out here… not much, of course, but still…"

"Thank goodness it's summer- I think we both need the break, I'm so tired," she gave a long, deep sigh. "I am looking forward to Mia and her friends coming but… I just need a rest… as do you and Charlotte," she added, looking pointedly at Joseph and he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"Any plans- aside from Mia and her coronation?"

"Maybe some gardening, reading some of the books that have been piling up… just relaxing… what about you?"

"Haven't really thought about it…"

"Have you thought about having some time off, get away for a couple of weeks?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he teased, giving her a flirtatious smile- yes, there were rumours starting to build about them, but as long as they were discreet and he kept the stories away from Her Majesty (and Scott was going to be extra vigilant with rumours and stories), he wouldn't have to pull away from Her Majesty.. Clarisse… not that he really would be able to….


	15. Mia's Return

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

There was a brief respite between returning to Genovia and the arrival of the Princess, and during this time, Clarisse insisted that Charlotte have a few days off, although Charlotte suspected that Joseph had also had a hand in it.

"You have been here early and go home late almost every day for the past 5 months and you deserve some time off- go," she almost commanded and Charlotte was surprised to find herself almost meekly slinking out of the Queen's study, the working day done and Charlotte now officially on vacation and she almost collided with Joseph on her way out.

"I was just coming to wish you 'happy holidays'- I believe you have a week off?"

"I didn't request it, I was more than satisfied to wait for my annual leave, but…."

"Her Majesty insisted- and you do deserve it, my dear, you've worked just as hard as Her Majesty…and she knew that, that's why you have a few days off."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"When are you taking some time off?" Charlotte almost demanded. "You've been here far longer than I and you only have a month off…."

"I'm happy to have a week off in each of November, December, January and February, usually when the royal family is on holiday….but I don't need any time off at the moment. I'm just hoping to convince Her Majesty to take a few days off before the Princess arrives, she also deserves a rest as well."

"Do you think that you will be successful in regards to that?"

"I'm not sure, I hope so- but I'm definitely going to try," Joseph said with an almost grim smile. "I am definitely going to try."

0

Charlotte did appreciate the time off- in fact, she enjoyed it, having managed to catch up with some of her friends and doing a few of the things she didn't have an opportunity to do while she was working- but she also had to admit that she missed the hustle and bustle of palace life and she was more than a little glad when her week was up and she returned to work.

"You are a workaholic!" Shades accused the morning of her return, when she admitted it over their morning coffee in the kitchen. "I would welcome additional time off, especially during the summer."

"That's just you… did Her Majesty have a few days off? I believe that Joe was going to try and get her to have some time off."

"Two, maybe three days, but she's back at work now- and I don't think Joe's pleased, he wanted her to have some more time off."

"Well, at least, she had a few days off," Charlotte said encouragingly before she rinsed her mug out and set it down on the sink. "Oh well, time to start work."  
Her Majesty, as Charlotte expected, was already at her desk when she stepped into her study, but immediately stopped and stood up with a warm smile when she spotted Charlotte, notebook, tape recorder and pen in hand.

"Welcome back, Charlotte. Did you enjoy your time off?"

"Good morning, Your… Clarisse. Yes, I did," before she faltered for a moment. "Did…did you have a few days off yourself?"

"Yes, I did and I did," Clarisse sounded surprised as she said it, as if she hadn't expected herself to give that opinion. "However, the paperwork seemed to be piling up and… I had no choice but to return to work."

"I'm here and ready to go," Charlotte said immediately and Clarisse's smile broadened- she DID appreciate Charlotte, she was a gem, although she couldn't actually praise her, not through lack of willingness but because of the life and traditions she had lived through- but before Clarisse could actually say more, try and find out what Charlotte had been up to during her holiday, she and Charlotte sensed another presence in the room and they turned to see Joseph, as usual clad in black, striding into the room.

"Good morning, Joseph," Clarisse said first.

"Good morning, Your Majesty, Charlotte… Welcome back, Charlotte, I trust you had an enjoyable few days off," his deep voice and his expression were warm as he gave Charlotte a brief hug (something new, Charlotte noted) before taking Her Majesty's hand and kissing it lightly ( _another interesting development_ , she noted to herself). "Hopefully, you did?" he inquired and Charlotte pretended she hadn't seen the moment between the older couple as she looked directly at him.

"Yes- I managed to catch up with a few things, see some friends, relax a bit… but I'm also glad to be back at work," she added hastily and, fearful of offending the Queen, but the smiles she saw on both their faces told her otherwise.

"Of course you are," Clarisse said hastily as Joe continued chuckling and muttering: 'Workaholics' under his breath.

"Joseph! You can talk!" she added chidingly before Joseph stopped chuckling, although his eyes were still twinkling with humour.

"So… what do you need me to do first?" Charlotte inquired and suddenly the moment between Queen and bodyguard was over and Clarisse… Her Majesty… turned professional and she sat back down at her desk.

"Well, Amelia… Mia," she amended after a pause. "Will be here in a week and the coronation will be 5 days after that, as well as several public appearances in the two months after that… so we need to start organising a flexible schedule for her- which will also include recreation time for her and her friends- and working that with my own schedule- I need to have some time with her, as I did in San Francisco with the 'princess lessons'… and Joseph needs to be here to help organise the schedules as there will be need for additional security."

"Ma'am?" both Charlotte and Joseph were looking at the Queen curiously, wondering what the Queen was leading up to- she sounded oddly hyper, as if she was talking to the press, parliament and them all in one- before Clarisse hastened to amend her statement.

"I want to be prepared, that's all- I'm not expecting Mia to do too many public appearances- five, at the maximum, is what Sebastian and I agreed upon- but she should continue lessons while she's here, just to start preparing her for her future here…she needs to start learning about her heritage."

"That sounds perfectly reasonable, Your Majesty, but just make sure that you're not going to push her too hard, particularly during her first summer here. Yes, she needs to learn about her heritage and about Genovian history, but she also needs to enjoy herself as well," Joseph said gently.

"I know that," Her Majesty, who had been making a few notes while talking animatedly, stopped and looked at both of them. "I know that… I just…."

"You don't have to justify anything to us, Your Majesty," Charlotte said quietly and Joseph hummed his agreement. "When I spoke to the Princess before we were left, she was very much looking forward to coming to Genovia, getting to know you more and the history of the country- she doesn't want to disappoint you, Your Majesty."

"Disappoint me? How… why on earth would she think that she could disappoint me?" Clarisse's expression was bewildered.

"She's a very bright, sensitive young lady and she has high expectations of herself, just like you have for her and she wants to make sure that she does everything right for you," Joseph said softly and Clarisse suddenly frowned.

"It sounds as though you know her better than me," she joked lightly but Charlotte sensed that she was a little jealous at the bond the young girl and her bodyguard had formed, as did Joseph as he reached over and touched one of her hands gently.

"I'm a keen observer of people, Your Majesty, you know that, and that's what I sensed from the girl… but you're going to get to know her better while she's here, so by the end of the summer, I can guarantee that you will know her much better and that she will know you as well."

Clarisse blushed at the words and the intensity with which Joseph was saying them, but she was also aware of Charlotte's presence in the room and she gave a small cough, pulled her hand away and began shuffling papers around her desk for a moment, as she recovered herself and then refocused her attention back to the matters at hand.

"So, anyway….."

00000

The palace was a hive of activity the morning of Princess Mia's arrival- upon learning of the Princess's advent, the press had gone wild (although they didn't have very many pictures of the Princess prior to the trip to San Francisco) and were, as expected, split between waiting at the palace and waiting at the airport, everyone hoping for a first glimpse of the Princess 'returning to her homeland', as some of the press had been quoting over the past few days.

Charlotte was as busy as always- the schedules had been agreed upon and she was busy preparing for the coronation and associated celebration in 5 days' time- but she was looking forward to seeing the Princess again.

She had liked her from the first moment she had met her- she had been so shy and so endearingly awkward on that first day- but she had also begun to like and respect her more and more as the two weeks in San Francisco passed by and the poor girl had been through the wringer in regards to the press, parliament, her friends and even her own grandmother. Some of the 'hiccups' had been unfortunate but Mia was young and she was still discovering herself, something made difficult by the fact that she had also just discovered that her father was a royal prince and she was the heir to the throne.

She had never mentioned any of her feelings or thoughts to Her Majesty, sensing that the Queen had enough on her plate without Charlotte adding her thoughts, but she felt that the Queen had also begun to discover some of the qualities in the girl that Charlotte had seen almost from the beginning and that Joseph had seen them as well.

"Typical reporters- a visitor to the palace and they go crazy!" Scott grumbled as he prepared to leave for the airport with a retinue of bodyguards. "I hate the press, I hate having to negotiate the car around them because they don't have the good sense to stand out of the way…"

"Yes, they can be difficult but, in this instance, you can understand why they're going crazy- the Crown Princess of Genovia is returning to her country," before she made a face, realising that she had almost directly quoted a headline from one of the newspapers she had read earlier this morning.

"Quite sickly, isn't it," Shades chuckled at her expression, before he sobered up. "Poor kid, she doesn't deserve all this attention, she should have a normal life."

"She still will in a lot of ways…"

"But with a title."

"Yes, with a title."

0

The moment the Princess, her mother and her two friends stepped through the front double doors, the entire atmosphere of the palace changed- while it was normally calm, quiet and a little subdued, with the arrival of the young people, the energy changed and it was somehow more happy and enthusiastic.

Charlotte had been with Joseph and Her Majesty in the hallway, and she was pleased to see Mia's enthusiasm hadn't dimmed in the past few weeks as she gave her grandmother a warm hug (the older woman momentarily surprised before she gave back the hug) and then beamed happily at Joseph (she wanted to give him a hug too, Charlotte could tell, but she wasn't quite sure how her grandmother would deal with that) before giving Charlotte just as enthusiastic smile.

"Hi… Hello, Charlotte! It's great to see you again!"

"Hello Princess, it's wonderful to see you again as well," Charlotte gave her a tiny curtsey, head bowed slightly, before giving her a welcoming smile, but she was startled to see a surprised look on the teenager's face.

"Charlotte, you don't have to do that!"

"Mia, dear, she does have to do that," Her Majesty interceded before Charlotte could say a word. "It's part of the protocols in dealing with royalty and something that you will have to accept."

"Oh," her smile dimmed somewhat for a moment. "I see," before she recovered, turning towards Lily and Michael, who were standing behind her with Helen. "I hope that you will all remember Lily and Michael, and you definitely know Mom," she finished with a giggle as the other three stepped forward and deferentially bowed their heads toward Clarisse.

"Welcome to Genovia and welcome to the palace," Clarisse said graciously with a warm smile. "I have two of my staff members take you upstairs to your rooms, and once you settle in, we'll have lunch."

"Great, thanks Grandma… see you all later!" before Mia almost bounded upstairs, following behind the palace staff who had her luggage, Michael and Lily in her wake.

"It…it feels strange to be back," Helen admitted as she paused on the stair and looked around her. "I still expect Pierre or Phillipe to come racing down the stairs and… His Majesty coming out of the study, off to parliament….It's been a long time…"

"Indeed, it's been a long time- but I meant what I said to you before, you are more than welcome here anytime, just as Mia is," Clarisse said sincerely and the two women exchanged a smile as Joseph and Charlotte silently observed the moment- finally, there was some closure.

00000

The arrival of the Princess definitely changed the atmosphere of the palace and while the press milled around outside the gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Princess, the Princess herself remained inside, settling into palace life and slowly getting to know her grandmother, the country and her heritage.

As planned, the coronation was a quiet affair (something the press didn't understand, they had argued that they deserved full coverage of the event, but Clarisse insisted on only one member of the press and a cameraman being present at the ceremony) and most of parliament warmly welcomed the Princess to the country, although there were a few (except Viscount Mabrey and his ilk), who gave her a brief greeting then spent the rest of the time watching her with sneering looks and whispering to each other.

"Joseph…." Charlotte murmured to him after the ceremony and the two royals were mingling with the guests. "Viscount Mabrey…."

"Don't worry, I'm keeping a very close eye on them, you're not the only one watching them," came his reassuring reply.

The ceremony may have been quiet and simple, but the meaning of the ceremony wasn't missed by either royal member, most particularly Her Majesty, who was watching her granddaughter with a quiet, reflective expression and Charlotte wondered whether she was thinking about Mia herself or Phillipe or even Pierre… and Charlotte had found herself thinking about the two young princes during the ceremony, wondering what could have been if Pierre hadn't abdicated or Phillipe hadn't been killed….

After the ceremony, there was a small function for members of parliament and the royal family, again another successful function, the Princess held herself well and managed to have a few conversations with some of the members of parliament (even one or two whom she had never met, and Sebastian introduced her to them) and Charlotte was very impressed with her- she was going to make a fine Queen.

Finally, the afternoon was over and Charlotte could see the relief on Mia's face, as well as of her friends- they had stayed in the background and only spoken to a few people (they hadn't been expected to attend, but Clarisse had invited them and Mia had insisted), and her mother had had an even harder time, with some members completely ignoring her, remembering her as the former wife of Phillipe- and Clarisse was quick to praise her when it was just them, Charlotte and Joseph.

"You did very well this afternoon, Mia- everyone was very impressed with you."

"I was really nervous at first, but then… some of them were really nice to me."

"Yes, there are a few decent members of parliament, and I'm glad that Sebastian introduced you to them, but you need to be careful around certain other members, as you will learn."

"Believe me, Grandma, I will be taking your advice especially when it concerns members of parliament," Mia said with a rueful smile.

0

Later that evening….

"I was very proud of her today," Clarisse said reflectively as she sat back on the sofa in her study and gazed ahead into the darkened gardens. "She did very well."

"Yes, she did," replied Joseph, who was sitting beside her. "I was proud of her as well."

"You're a good role model for her," Clarisse turned to him with a smile.

"I may be that, but so are you," he retorted as he reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"Tush! She barely knows who I am," she blustered, momentarily embarrassed but not wanting to pull her hand away from his- they had so few moments of privacy, anything they could get was cherished.

"She does know you," he moved a little closer to her and moved her head so that she was looking at him. "She knows you as her grandmother… and being here will let her get to know you further in that role, as well as Queen of Genovia."

"But…."

"But what?" he pressed- he could see that she wanted to say something, but suddenly decided not to say anything. "Clarisse?"

"It's… it's nothing," she stammered, looking away from him but his hand on her chin forced her to keep looking at him.

"Clarisse, you can talk to me, you know that."

"I know, I know that," she murmured softly, lowering her eyes. "But this… not at the moment."

"But you will talk to me when you feel ready to?" he persisted and she looked back at him for a moment before reaching up and touching his cheek with her hand.

"Yes, I will…."

For a moment, their eyes met and held for a time- since San Francisco, there had been so little time to discuss what had happened between them but now… was this the moment to discuss it?

"Joseph…" she began almost timidly, but before she could say anymore, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Your Majesty? Do you want your tea here or upstairs in your suite?" one of her maids asked through the door.

"Upstairs," Clarisse responded as Joseph rolled his eyes and pulled away, the moment broken. "Joseph, I…."

"It's alright," he gave her a reassuring smile as he stood up and offered his hand to help her up. "Another time… it's been a long day and I'm sure you're very tired."

"I am, actually… thank you Joseph," she leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek, surprising both of them. "Good night."

"Good night, Clarisse," he responded, watching as she walked towards the door and exited the room… were they ever going to get any privacy?


	16. Buried Feelings (Part One)

_A/N: This story has segued a bit further from what I had initially planned, but it's still fun to do anyway! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

After the coronation, the rest of the summer seemed to fly by, but while parliament was n summer recess, the Queen and her staff- which meant everyone associated with the palace- were working as usual, if not harder, particularly the security team members protecting the Princess and her friends.

The young people had clearly enjoyed their summer at the palace, exploring the grounds and the palace itself as well as enjoying 'tours' of some of the other tourist spots; and it was partly because of this enjoyment as well as an interest in her heritage and wanting to please her grandmother, that Princess Mia ("I'm still just Mia when Grandma's not around," she had reminded Charlotte on occasion) had agreeably attended four meetings with the Prime Minister and the Queen, one 'emergency' session of parliament (which was mainly to introduce her to them officially as well as wind up 'loose ends') as well as four public appearances (all carefully prepared and vetted by the Queen and Sebastian), all of which seemed to go well.

The appearances themselves were all associated with young people, as they were inspired by an observation Joseph had when he had accompanied the young girl to school once her 'identity' had been revealed and had provided some ideas about the nature of the soon to be Princess….

 _00000_

" _The princess is late for algebra…" began the teacher who was trying to move the press along but, instead, crowded in further as the 'princess' crouched down on the pavement in front of two middle school girls, one in a wheelchair, to give them her 'autograph' (which Joseph couldn't help but note was 'Mia' rather than Princess') and chat about her friends and her cat before, after receiving a signal given to Joseph by one of the teachers, he leaned forward and gently pressed Mia's shoulder, as a sign of encouragement that she had to go to move on to class._

 _He was pleased to note, as he escorted her away from the pavement and up the stairs to the entrance to the school, that while she gave the cameras still hovering around her (but held back by some of the backup Joe had brought with him) a warm smile, there was no sign of nervousness or apprehension- not that he would have blamed her otherwise._

" _She did WHAT? Really?" Her Majesty repeated half an hour later when, upon his return to the consulate, Joseph reported to her and Charlotte what he had witnessed. "Are you sure?"_

" _Yes, ma'am, and I believe that Miss Thermopolis did it of her own volition- she wanted to do that," the last words were heavily emphasised._

" _Really?" Her Majesty was still a little disbelieving but Charlotte already believed._

" _Absolutely," he said with no doubt in his voice and the surprised, almost disbelieving expression on the Queen's face relaxed into one of relief._

" _Well… that's good."  
_

 _"Some of the men blocked the press from getting any closer- not that this moment won't be in the papers or on the news tomorrow…"  
_

 _"Of course not, although it may give some positive coverage," the Queen murmured to herself. "But what else happened?"_

" _She just ignored them, and when she caught sight of the little girls….you would have been proud of her… I certainly was- I was proud and very impressed…" and it was the last words that made an impact on the two women listening- if Joseph, a man who was very difficult to impress, admitted that he was, then he was definitely telling the truth and that they had to listen to him…._

" _I… I wish I had been there to see it," the Queen said softly, her expression turning sad for a moment. "It was something that both Pierre and Phillipe would have done."  
_

 _"As would have you, if you had the opportunity," he said gently, moving forward a little and Charlotte again had the sense that she was the invisible person in the room. "But there will be plenty of other opportunities to see her in action, I believe that."_

 _00000_

Based on that observation, the few public appearances were focused on young people- the opening of a new playground, a children's birthday party, visiting a local day centre or two- and while the press coverage was limited, what there was was positive and even most members of parliament left complimentary messages on her 'effort'.

"A bit condescending," Mia wrinkled nose when her grandmother had recalled the comments, and she was surprised when her grandmother began to laugh.

"I completely agree with you, my dear, those men can be very condescending, as I have discovered many, many times over the years, but as I've told you before, you need to be careful with them- listen and respect their ideas (even if you don't agree with them) but don't let them intimidate you."

"They don't intimidate you, do they?"

Clarisse considered her question as Charlotte watched them quietly- it was true that the men of parliament didn't intimidate the Queen so much anymore (well, not during her personal observations) but they still tried to do it at times and tried to do it a lot when the King had passed away, but the Queen had managed to maintain her dignity and her calm façade, even when there were times when Charlotte knew that they had driven her to distraction.

"I will admit that there were times in the past when they did try to intimidate me- I was a woman, Queen Consort but not worth their time or their opinions, most of them thought- but I finally managed to discover techniques and tricks to deal with them."

"Will you show me some of them one day?"

"One day, I might," Clarisse gave her a wry smile. "But you must also learn to develop your own tricks to deal with them."

"What about ignoring them?" Mia suggested with a cheeky smile and Clarisse was relaxed enough to know that she was joking, so she laughed along with her.

All too soon, the summer was almost over and Mia, Helen and the Moscovitzes were ready to return to San Francisco- Clarisse had made the decision, urged by Sebastian and Joseph in their own ways, to allow Mia to continue her education in San Francisco.

"I had already decided upon that before the end of July," Clarisse admitted to Joseph once she had let Mia know of her decision (and received another ecstatic, almost over the top hug from her, although Clarisse had to admit that she was beginning to get used to them, in fact she enjoyed them) and he had gazed at her calmly.

"I knew that."

"How did you know that?" she demanded.

"Because… I know you and I know how you think."

"You just think you know, but you don't," she crinkled her nose up at him, in a very similar way to Mia but Joseph only chuckled as he moved closer to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh believe me, I do know…."

On the morning of their departure, the same group who had waited for their arrival was waiting in the foyer for them again, and once Helen, Michael and Lily had said their farewells and had gone outside, Mia stood before them with a slightly regretful smile.

"It's a pity that the summer had to come to an end- I hate having to go back to school."

"It won't be too long and it'll be Christmas and you'll be back," Joseph said encouragingly- Mia and Helen had already agreed to return for Christmas, an agreement that Charlotte was pleased about, mainly for the sake of Her Majesty- Prince Pierre wouldn't be able to attend and it would be the first without Phillipe…

"Still… there's three months until then," she mock pouted and Joe laughed as he stepped forward and kissed her hand.

"They'll fly before you know it… have a safe trip back to the States and enjoy your term."

"Thank you, Joey," she teased him before turning to Charlotte. "Thanks for all your help and support, Charlotte- I hope I haven't been too much trouble for you this summer."

"Not at all, Your Highness, I've been glad to give you any help I could offer… safe travels."

Both Joe and Charlotte stepped backwards, leaving the Queen and her granddaughter facing each other.

"Three months isn't such a long time," Clarisse said, trying to jolly her granddaughter along but trying to hide the fact that she feeling a little emotional, as if she was saying goodbye to another member of her family, but she told herself that she was being ridiculous.

"I know, I know, I just don't like summer ending," Mia sighed before looking at her grandmother again. "Thank you for everything this summer, and I'm looking forward to coming back at Christmas."

"As am I… there will be no official duties that time, except for the New Year's Eve Ball."

"Genovians certainly enjoy balls, don't they?" Mia laughed and there was a moment of awkwardness before Clarisse stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her granddaughter- it was still awkward, but she was getting there.

"Have a very safe trip back and enjoy your school term," she murmured quietly into her ear and Mia nodded.

"I will… and you enjoy…." She paused as she pulled away, trying to think of something to say. "You enjoy… your meetings and sessions of parliament."

"Thank you, dear," Clarisse said wryly as she stepped back. "I'll try to."

"Well… bye," Mia waved a little awkwardly around the foyer before turning and walking out the door, pausing in the doorway to turn and smile back at them for a moment before completely exiting the palace.

0

There was a long pause after Mia's exit, as Clarisse continued standing where she was and watching the door that Mia just exited, Charlotte and Joe still standing in their positions behind her, before Joseph took the initiative and took a quiet step forward.

"Your Majesty? ...Clarisse?" he said in a softer voice and finally the Queen turned to look at him, her expression calm and collected but there was clear emotion in her blue eyes, both Charlotte and Joseph could see it. "Are you alright?"

"What… why wouldn't I be?" she asked briskly, the veil suddenly coming back down over her eyes again and she looked as calm as ever. "She will be back- it's not as if she's gone forever… and now," she glanced at her watch. "Charlotte, you and I have a meeting with Sebastian Motaz in half an hour, there a few things I want to go over before he arrives," before she turned and began walking with determination towards her study, her high heels clicking on the floor. "Oh, and Joseph?"

"Yes ma'am?" he asked as she turned to look at him.

"Can you and your team debrief on the summer with the Princess and have a report for me by the end of the day? See if there is anything that needs to be improved or developed further for next time?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said quietly before he and Charlotte exchanged a look and then went their separate ways- the Queen hated to reveal any vulnerability in her character (another aftermath of being married to a man like Rupert) but they both knew that, eventually, she would reveal how she was truly feeling.

0

They were wrong about her revealing her feelings- the next few days, she buried herself in work and neither Charlotte nor Joseph could make her talk about anything besides work or anything associated with parliament (and she didn't even want to walk in the gardens, as she usually did when she needed a break)- although she was briefly happy when she had a phone call from Mia once they had arrived back in San Francisco- and it was at the end of the week that Joseph made a decision and decided to let Charlotte in on his plan.

"I'm going to insist on Her Majesty have the afternoon off- is it possible for her to clear her schedule?"

Charlotte glanced at the Queen's personal schedule and saw that she only had paperwork and a short meeting with Joseph himself that day- Fridays were usually quiet, unless preparing for a dinner or formal occasion and there was nothing on the schedule for that until mid-September.

"That should be fine… but are you going to be able to convince her to have some time off?" She too was concerned about the Queen- she obviously missed the Princess greatly and had underestimated her feelings for the girl- but she wasn't quite sure the Queen would agree to this.

"Charlotte," he sat on the edge of her desk and looked at her seriously. "This is not like what happened with Phillipe- although I am concerned about the first anniversary in April, but we'll deal with that later- but she needs time to process her feelings. You and I both know that she misses Princess Mia more than she will admit but she hasn't been able- we both know that she buries her feelings… it's not healthy but it's what she does… I just want her to have a little time to process those feelings, you do understand that, don't you?"

Charlotte, despite sensing his ever deepening feelings for the Queen, was a little taken aback at the passion and vehemence of his argument but she quickly recovered to nod quickly at him- she too felt that she needed at least the afternoon off.

"Yes, Joe, I agree with you, I understand and I will clear her schedule… but you're going to be the one to tell her."

"Oh yes, I will do that," he gave her a quick wink before getting off her desk and heading towards the closed study doors.

"Good luck," she called after him and he only grinned at her before knocking briefly on the door and entering the room, closing the door behind him.

As expected, Her Majesty was sitting at her desk, paperwork covering her desk, her glasses high up on her nose and her head bent over her desk, pen in hand moving frantically across the paper.

"Your Majesty," he said simply and she looked up after a moment.

"Joseph? I wasn't expecting you until later."

"I know you weren't, but I need to speak with you."

"It will have to wait until later- I have got so much work to do this afternoon," she waved at the paper strewn desk. "I'll be fortunate if I leave here before eight o'clock tonight."

"You'll be gone well before then… in fact, you're leaving now," he said calmly and the Queen, who had been bending her head back down to her paperwork, looked up in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"You're leaving your paperwork now," Joseph said again calmly as he walked around the desk and held out a hand to her.

"Joseph, you know I can't! I have so much to do here…" she protested.

"I'm not going to tell you again- you're leaving your desk now," he said in a much more authoritative tone and this time Clarisse frowned at him.

"You can't tell me what to do… I've got things to do, phone calls to make…"

"All of which you can do next Monday, for now, you're playing hooky from school," and he grabbed her hand and pulled up, albeit not as gently as he would have if she had accepted his word and gone willingly with him, Clarisse too startled to do anything.

"Hooky?"

"You never skipped school? Pretended you were sick?"

"No, I didn't do that at all," she said primly, removing her hand from his and taking off her glasses to set down on her desk. "I imagine you did it quite a few times."  
"Not that many," he shrugged before he looked at her again. "So, are you agreeable to my suggestion of having the afternoon off?"

Clarisse considered for a moment and then shrugged, looking again like her granddaughter and her sons before her.

"Fine. Fine with me," and it was those words that convinced Joseph that she did need the break. "So," she looked at him expectantly, suddenly feeling less chained to the desk as she had been only moments ago. "Where are you taking me?"

"I thought a walk in your garden would be appropriate- you should probably enjoy the last of the fine weather before autumn comes."

"That sounds like a good idea," she agreed before she stopped short. "What about Charlotte? Surely you let her know what you were planning on doing?"

"I've already told her what's going on and suggested that your schedule be cleared for the afternoon…."

"That was rather heavy handed," Clarisse protested, but weakly.

"True… but she agreed to do what I asked….."

Charlotte tried to look busy when the two of them emerged from the Queen's study, but Her Majesty wasn't obviously fooled as she stood in front of her desk and waited for Charlotte to look up at her.

"Charlotte."

"Your Majesty?"

"Remember, Clarisse when we're alone…?"

"But…" her eyes moved toward Joseph and the Queen… Clarisse… who was suddenly looking more relaxed than she had been for the past couple of days, waved a hand in the air.

"It's fine, he doesn't mind… anyway, I just wanted to thank you for clearing my schedule… even though I hadn't given someone permission for that," she gave Joe a slightly stern look before turning back to Charlotte. "But thank you… maybe you could have the afternoon off as well….?"

"That would be nice, Your Majesty, but I still have a great deal to do here… enjoy your walk in the garden."

"Thank you."

As she watched them walk away, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder what they were going to talk about while they were in the garden- NOT that she was going to eavesdrop in any way but she couldn't help but wonder….but they did deserve some privacy….


	17. Buried Feelings (Part Two)

_A/N: A short chapter, but a second chapter in a day! That's a record for me! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

"So, what was your intention in bringing me out into the garden?" Clarisse asked almost playfully as they walked down the cement stairs leading down to the garden and Joseph gave a small shrug.

"I had just noticed that you hadn't been for a walk in your garden in a couple of days and thought that you would like a break from your work."

"Yes, it's true that I have been feeling a pull towards the garden, and maybe I have been working too hard, but there is a lot to do before parliament recommences next week."

"Surely there isn't that much to do?" Joseph knew that it wasn't strictly his place to question his monarch's workload or even the workings of the parliament, but Clarisse had made him a confidante years earlier, if only to be a sounding board to listen to her ideas and complaints (long before they had developed their friendship, a friendship that had seemed to be deepening over the past few months and years) and he now felt free to question what he felt wasn't correct or seemed difficult.

"Not particularly, there's no official dinners until the beginning of October…."

"Hopefully not on your birthday," he teased gently and she blushed slightly.

"No, even that would take duty a little too far… but a few days after it… and I believe that I have a three day trip to Paris at the end of October…."

"So why have you been chained to your desk for the past few days?" he asked bluntly and she paused from gazing at one of her rose bushes to turn and look at him levelly.

"You know I have had work to do."

"It sounds more like an excuse to me."

"An excuse for what?" she suddenly looked irritated- how dare he question her motives for working so hard?

"An excuse… for burying your feelings," Joseph said quietly, careful not to sound too casual with the words but wanting her to know that he was serious about his meaning.

" _I beg your pardon?!"_ Now she was seriously annoyed- Joseph might be her friend, her bodyguard, her Head of Security, her political sounding board on occasion and eventually, hopefully, more than that, but there was still a boundary between them that prevented discussion of things that would mean that they were in a relationship, including _feelings._ "How DARE you make that assumption?"

"It's not an assumption, it's the truth- and you know that I'm right," Joseph said, still maddeningly calm, which annoyed Clarisse even further, even more so than the fact that he was correct, she had been burying her feelings about Mia and her sons through more work, hoping that the anguish she had been feeling would dissipate somewhat, although she knew that it wouldn't dissipate, it would only grow worse.

"You are… you're not… correct… I have…" she stammered, her anger as well as her anguish threatening to overwhelm her and Joseph realised that he had pushed her as far as he could.

"Come and sit down over here," he waved towards a nearby bench and, taking her arm, gently led her towards it. "So," he continued once they had sat down and he had given Clarisse the opportunity to calm down slightly- she had been angry at his words but she had also been upset. "What is _really_ going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she waved his concern away but she was looking away from him and that meant she was struggling to contain her emotions.

"Clarisse… Clarisse," he repeated when she didn't respond to his first entreaty. "Clarisse, look at me," he said in an even quieter tone and she finally looked at him, her eyes dangerously bright with tears. "You miss them, don't you?"

"Them?"

"Pierre… Phillipe… and Mia."

"How could I miss Mia as much as I miss my sons? At least she can return to Genovia at Christmas… Pierre… and Phillipe…."

"Pierre would be able to come back whenever he chooses, he knows that, and yes, Mia will be back at Christmas, but that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to miss them just as much as you miss Phillipe."

"Don't you think I'm being ridiculous?" she asked him a little tremulously and this was the signal Joseph took to put a gentle arm around her shoulders and she leaned slightly into him.

"No, you are definitely not being ridiculous. They are your family and you love them."

"Love…" she blushed at the word, a word that had never really been mentioned in her own family or with Rupert but she had made sure that the boys knew that she loved them… but again, that was a subject that she didn't feel comfortable discussing, even with Joseph.

"Yes," was all he said- he could sense her discomfort at the word and he didn't want to push her too hard. "Anyway, it's alright to miss them- I have to admit, the palace has been much quieter since the Princess and her friends left."

"Do you miss her as well?" she looked at him shyly and he nodded- he did, probably not as much as Clarisse herself, but the Princess was a very vibrant, happy young woman, a lot like her father in a lot of ways, and her presence had lightened the atmosphere of the palace a great deal, just like when the princes were young men.

"I do- she's just like her father, makes the palace seem less…."

"Stuffy and stifled," Clarisse suggested with a small smile and he chuckled.

"I wasn't necessarily going to use those words, but yes, her presence, and the presence of her friends, definitely lightened up the palace a lot…. There would be others that would wonder why you allowed her to return to the States for school…."

"I wanted that- and her father wanted that. She is not to be Queen for some time, so why force her to be here when she should be allowed to have a normal life back in San Francisco, even for a limited time."

"That was very unselfish of you to make that decision," he said in an approving tone and Clarisse again looked at him, this time in bewilderment.

"It sounds as though you are proud of me for that decision."

"I am."

"Oh," was all she could say to that before Joseph suddenly remembered something else that had been bothering him for a while and decided to ask her about it.

"A couple of weeks ago, after the coronation, you seemed to want to say something to me… what was it?"

"What?" Clarisse frowned at him and then remembered what she had been wanting to say to him but still not wanting to say it to him. "Oh, that was nothing."

"I don't think it was nothing," he withdrew his arm from around her shoulder and pulled away to look at her evenly. "I think it was something that was bothering you a great deal and you wanted to tell me but couldn't."

"Really, Joseph, it's nothing… let's keep walking in the garden, you were right about being n the garden, it's making me feel much better…."

She began to stand up, still talking quickly and hoping to convince him that there was nothing seriously wrong but he reached up, took one of her free hands and pulled her back down next to him.

"Clarisse… you cannot lie to me, you know that. Tell me what you were thinking that evening?"

"I… I…." she stammered, her cheeks turning a bright pink and she couldn't look at him.

"Clarisse… please," he was starting to feel a little worried.

"I… I was thinking about that evening in San Francisco, after the ball….

"Ah, yes," he said heavily, suddenly understanding her meaning and what she was talking about. "What about that evening?" he continued cautiously- if she was going to profess regrets, he didn't know what he was going to do or think or feel….

"I… I was just wondering… did you… did you… regret….that….?" her voice was almost a whisper and she couldn't even bear to finish the thought or even look at Joseph, who was stunned at the question. _Did she really think that he would regret kissing her that evening, in the garden? Surely not!_

"I… I don't know what to say…" he began hesitatingly, unsure of what to say and Clarisse suddenly looked up at him with naked emotion in her eyes, the veil having been completely torn away and he knew that she was waiting for an answer. "Do YOU regret what happened?"

There was a long pause then and he waited with bated breath for her answer- again, if she regretted what had happened…

"No… no…. no! I don't, I truly don't," she suddenly cried out passionately and almost tearfully. "That moment was… lovely and….wonderful," she looked back at him, suddenly sheepish. "I know you must think I'm foolish but… I was worried that…."

"Why should you be worried about me? I was the one who initiated the kiss," he said, letting out the breath he was holding and hiding his relief behind a warm smile.

"To be honest, I was more concerned that you regretted it."

"Why would I have regretted it?" Clarisse looked shocked- surely, he wasn't serious.

"Well… you are the Queen and I…."

"Are a very dear friend whom I trust very much…" _and someone that I can see belonging in my life long after I have stepped down from the throne but NOT as my bodyguard, something much more deeper and long lasting…._

"Then why are we both worried?" he joked lightly as he wove an arm around her shoulders again and she again leant against him.

"I know, for me, I was worried that you regretted it because we haven't had an opportunity to discuss what happened….but then again, I'm over thinking it, aren't I?"

"Not necessarily," he used his free hand to tuck a tendril of her hair behind her ear, an intimate gesture he wasn't quite sure he should have done but it didn't seem to bother her. "You have always been one to consider all your options and carefully consider them again, but you don't have to worry about over thinking things… all we need to do is take things slowly, which is what I assume you want to do."

"I do… and what about you?"

"Whatever you want to do is what I'm happy with…" he said gently and she turned to him with a small, shy smile.

"You are far too patient with me."

"You shouldn't bury your feelings, Clarisse. It's not healthy for you… and you know that I, as well as others including Charlotte, are always here for you to talk to, when you need it."

"You know that that is not possible, and there are too few that I trust aside from Charlotte and yourself… but I know that I can always count on you when I need you… thank you, Joseph, for always being there when I need you."

"You are welcome," before he leaned over and gently pressed his lips on hers for their second kiss- a kiss that wasn't quite as passionate as their first, but still a sweet kiss- and when he finally pulled away, he stood up and gave her a warm smile as he offered her his hand.

"Shall we continue our walk in the garden? It's what we're supposed to be doing."

"You were the one that stopped to talk," she pretended to grumble as she took her hand and he helped her up.

"You're not passing the blame, are you?" he arched an eyebrow at her and they gazed at each other for a long moment before they smiled at each other.

"No… not really… alright, let's continue our walk."


	18. The Kiss

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

As everyone had predicted to Mia when she had left in September, the next few months flew by quickly, even faster than Charlotte imagined, even though she had been as busy as always with paperwork, managing the Queen's schedule, attending sessions of parliament (the Queen… Clarisse… preferred her to accompany her to take her own notes- parliament had their own, but she wanted another perspective as well) and travelling to Paris and London in October and November respectively.

Her Majesty kept in regular contact with the Princess, and both Charlotte and Joseph were a little surprised when she had insisted on accessing the internet and creating an email (which would be connected to Charlotte, so not to alert others to the fact that the Queen had Genovia had an email address) address.

"I have to move with the times, and creating my own email address is… moving with the times, isn't it?" the Queen looked from one to the other when she had suggested it, their surprise clear on their faces. "Well, Phillipe wanted me to create one a couple of years earlier but I didn't want to… and it makes sense to have one… doesn't it?" the Queen suddenly trailed off, looking uncertain.

"No one is judging you, Your Majesty, and it would be a good idea- but I will have to get one of our technical guys to come and take a look- we need to make sure that all the necessary security measures in place."

"Yes, Phillipe and Mia both mentioned that there were… hackers….is that word correct? That there were hackers that could get on line and… hack into your private emails and bank accounts… surely that's not possible."

"It is, ma'am but that's something that you don't need to worry about," Joseph said reassuringly. ""We'll make sure that all the necessary security measures will be in place…"

"It's something I probably won't use too often- I much prefer using the telephone- but…."

"You wanted to be seen to be keeping up with the times, which is wise, but you don't have to do that to prove that you're a modern woman," Joseph said calmly and it was the Queen's turn to look surprised but she didn't say anything more as she turned to Charlotte and changed the subject.

As it turned out, she very rarely used her recently created email account, still preferring to use the telephone, and while Mia had complained to Charlotte when waiting to connect to her grandmother, that her grandmother wasn't using her email, Charlotte could understand Clarisse's decision and tried to explain it to Mia.

"It's not as if she's not trying to keep up to date with the changes in the modern world- she more well read and more well informed than probably other people (which is necessary in her position)- but you also need to remember that she is also from a completely different generation, when technology was considered useless and unnecessary."

"I just thought that email would make it easier to keep in contact, rather than using the phone- those calls can be very expensive."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Princess Mia; and she will get used to using the email, eventually."

"Do you use email?"

"It's necessary for me- just imagine all the paperwork I would have to deal with if I didn't have an email," she joked lightly and Mia giggled along with her. "But, as with Her Majesty, there are quite a few security measure in place so that no one else can access my emails."

"Do you think you need to be worried about that?"

"Not necessarily," Charlotte began slowly, although there was always a small worry niggling in her mind about whether she _should_ be dealing with delicate information on the internet- she knew that Joseph was paranoid about security measures, backing everything up and shredding anything not needed any more. "But it's always better to be cautious."

"Should I worry about my own emails?" the younger girl sounded concerned and Charlotte felt sorry for her- she didn't mean to make the teenager worry about her own privacy issues.

"No, Princess, you don't need to worry about that- you just need to be cautious as most people are, changing passwords and not giving private details away… you should be fine."

The Princess's return to San Francisco was much quieter than her departure at the beginning of the summer- the palace and the consulate in San Francisco had negotiated an agreement with the various press agencies that they would leave the Princess alone during the school year and not accost her on the school grounds, in her home or even when she was pursuing after school activities, including her job.

It had been easier to reach the agreement, Charlotte had been surprised, but both Joseph and the Queen hadn't been surprised.

"They know that if they want to attend any formal occasions here in Genovia, or whenever the Queen is in San Francisco, they have to be nice," was what Joseph said and Charlotte understood that.

Anyway, the school term flew by quickly- and, according to Joseph and the Queen, the Princess had a much easier transition back into school; sure, there were still the popular people who tried to make things difficult for her, but Mia, with much more patience and understanding, ignored them and went about school quietly and determinedly, with Lily and Michael, as well as a few other loyal friends, at her side. Of course, she had a detail of three bodyguards who had accompanied her to San Francisco (as a condition of Her Majesty's agreement to her education continuing in America, and at Joseph's careful vetting and insistence), but they weren't noticed by anyone or, if they were, no one made any comment on them.

Her mother had apparently started dating Mia's English teacher, Patrick O'Connell, and while there had been no word on how Mia felt about it (she never mentioned anything to Charlotte and not very often to the Queen) but Charlotte assumed that she probably found it a little difficult.

The afternoon off that Joseph had suggested had helped Her Majesty better than even Charlotte would have thought- she had been much more calm and relaxed and she had eased back on her paperwork slightly, although not as much as Joseph wanted, given her role and responsibilities. But there was something indefinable in her character, a change that somehow occurred over the past few months so she wasn't quite as sad as she used to be and Charlotte somehow the change had something to do with both Joseph and Mia, although she wasn't willing to share her theory with anyone, not even Scott, despite his continued attempts to find out more from Charlotte.

"I don't know anything and I'm not going to say even if I did know anything… and besides, didn't you get a warning from Joseph in regards to creating gossip in the palace?" she looked at him with an arched eyebrow and Scott had the grace to look ashamed.

"Yeah… I guess so… but surely…."

" _ **No**_ , Scott."

000

All too soon, it was a week before Christmas and the Princess and her mother were due to land in Genovia in a couple of hours.

Because it was the lead up to Christmas and the New Year's Eve celebrations, the palace was in an uproar (a controlled uproar, everything was well organised and had been for months) and Charlotte was the only one who was available to greet the Princess and her mother when they arrived, but the Princess wasn't at all bothered by the lack of ceremony- as soon as she stepped into the foyer and noted all the Christmas decorations on the walls and ceilings, she was more preoccupied with them than the absence of her grandmother or even Joe.

"Hi Charlotte… wow, these decorations are amazing? It makes the entire room almost….glow… they're so beautiful."

"Many of the decorations have been in the family for many generations- the star on the top of the tree, for example…."

"You have a tree?"

"One in the ballroom and one in the library, and I will show them to you once you have settled in… but on the tree in the ballroom, the star has been in the family since the 19th century."

"Wow, that's….really, really…."

"I hope I wasn't going to hear you say 'old'," came another familiar voice and Mia, Helen and Charlotte turned to see Joseph stride easily into the room. "Hello Princess, it's wonderful to see you again," as, to everyone's surprise, Mia almost dashed over and threw her arms around his neck for a hug.

"Hi Joe, yes, it's great to see you again as well."

"School treating you well?" he asked when Mia pulled away- he was surprised at the impulsive gesture (and wasn't completely sure that the Queen would approve) but he also found that he liked it. He also knew that school had been much better for her these past few months (Clarisse usually mentioned her latest news after the phone calls) but the Princess wasn't to know that.

"Oh yeah… yes, it's not as bad as it was before, there are still those who want to cause trouble….like those three girls I was telling you about… but most people have been fairly supportive."

"That's good… and the press?" He was more concerned about the press- yes, there had been an agreement arranged between them and the palace, but there were times when they could and would push the boundaries.

"Haven't heard anything from them…that's a good thing, I take it?"

"It's a very good thing. I just came to let you know that Her Majesty is currently occupied in a meeting but she welcomes you back and will come to the guest suite when her meeting is finished."

0

The reunion between grandmother and granddaughter wasn't as awkward as the first time- Clarisse freely stepped forward to embrace her granddaughter rather than wait for Mia to do it (Joseph had advised her of that months earlier and while she had been indignant- "I am trying, but it's hard for someone like me"- but when Joseph had pointed out that she had been affectionate towards her sons and Mia was her granddaughter ("I know that, but it's still hard"), she knew that he was right and that she had to make an effort as well (and she was serious about trying, she really wanted to) and it was easy enough to hug her granddaughter upon her arrival.

After a few minutes chat about school and what she had been doing, Mia suddenly turned a little apprehensive.

"Are there any public appearances this time?"

"Aside from accompanying me to the New Year's Eve Ball, there are no public appearances this time. It is the festive season," Clarisse reminded her with a gentle, teasing smile. "I'm not expecting you to participate in public appearances every time you're here… and I can see that you're relieved about that as well."

"Well…" she looked slightly abashed before her smile broadened. "Yes, you are very right, Grandma and I am kind of relieved….not that I don't mind participating in some public appearances on occasion, seeing that one day I will be back here…."

"Yes, of course."

"Anyway, what will the New Year's Eve ball entail? Will I have to wear a ball gown and makeup? A tiara? Will I have to make a speech or dance with the members of parliament? What will I have to do?"

Clarisse was a little taken aback at the flow of questions that were coming out of Mia- she knew the child could talk and ask many questions all at once, but it was still something that she had to get used to- and there was a pause when she considered what question she would deal with first.

"The New Year's Eve ball is one of the main balls of the year, and yes, most of parliament will be attending- it's a social occasion as well as a political occasion. We usually have it at the Winter Palace but…." she trailed off for a moment, her thoughts drifting towards previous balls with her sons and husband in attendance, as well as Joseph… "Anyway," she refocused her attention back to Mia. "You will be wearing a ball gown, makeup and the Rose tiara; you won't be making a speech; you may have to dance with some members of parliament- certainly the Prime Minister- but I have had Charlotte invite some younger people so that you will not feel so… isolated. All you really need to do is be there and talk to people when you are spoken to… it's really not so bad."

"I hope not," Mia said in a whisper, an uncertain expression flitting across her face for a moment before it disappeared. "But it should be interesting…."

000

Despite Mia's apprehension of the evening, the festive season turned out very well. Christmas was different- of course it would be different, considering that the Queen had lost her husband and her son in the past year, as well as reuniting with her granddaughter- but with the presence of a young person within the palace walls again seemed to change the atmosphere of the palace. Christmas was always a time of celebration (rather subdued while the King was alive) but this first Christmas with Mia….it reminded Charlotte of Christmases in her own childhood, as well as stories that Joseph told her of when the boys were young.

"His Majesty wasn't the most relaxed person in the world- he preferred to be working or off with his friends, but at Christmas, he did make the effort, especially when the princes were young and it was a little clear that he did love those boys- he was proud of them, certainly- and Her Majesty definitely adored them… I know it's hard to imagine her as affectionate as she was then, but she was- being married to the King and his transgressions didn't make life easier for her- and she will be again."

At the end of his story, he trailed off and Charlotte watched him for a moment- his expression was soft and tender, almost as if he wasn't thinking about the boys but rather, his boss, as she suspected he was. He was a very tough man, dignified, professional and calm, but there were times when he spoke of the Queen and revealed a completely different side to himself, a side that Charlotte loved seeing.

Yes, Christmas had certainly been a festive occasion and everyone, palace staff included, enjoyed the day (once the royal family had been served their meals, the rest of the staff gathered in the kitchen for their own Christmas celebration, the security men alternating during the day) but it was the New Year's Eve ball that was the biggest festive occasion and one that everyone looked forward to, especially the parliamentarians.

Guests began arriving around five o'clock that afternoon, all well dressed in ball gowns, jewellery that only was taken out for special occasions and black tuxedos, and Charlotte (who had showered and dressed quickly, having to be back to greet the guests) spent the time checking on the kitchen staff, security and greeting the guests.

It was always a busy evening, exhausting certainly, but Charlotte enjoyed the evening- particularly once all the guests had arrived and, aside from checking on security and the staff on occasion, she had the opportunity, while hovering behind the Queen with Joseph, to observe the people around her. She was considered background, nothing more (not that she minded) by most of the guests, but there were a few who spoke to her, including the Motazes, but she was more interested in observing everyone around her.

The Princess was acquitting herself quite well- the young people Charlotte had invited were pleasant and she seemed to be getting along with them in a corner of the room, and while she had to dance with the Prime Minister and a few of the more curious members of parliament, it was the Queen who was, as always, the belle of the ball, dancing with all the members of parliament and everyone watching her as well, either through envy, admiration or something more malevolent (particularly Viscount Mabrey and some of his cronies) and while Charlotte was concerned, she knew that Joseph was watching even closer than even she was.

"Everyone alright?" she couldn't help but mutter one time during the evening.

"Fine, everything is fine. No security alerts?" he asked, his eyes still on the Queen, who was dancing with Lord Palimore.

"Not that I have heard of."

"Princess Mia?"

"She is enjoying her group of friends…."

"You did a good job of selecting those people- they seem pleasant and seem to like the princess."

"Her Majesty organised the list of people she wanted to attend."

"But you helped," he turned and gave her a look for a moment. "Don't ever doubt your importance to the Queen- you are an extremely hard worker and a good friend to her."

"Thank you," she blushed.

Finally, the countdown to midnight finally arrived, and it was surprise to observe how many people (including some of the older members of parliament) counted along with the leader of the band- and it was even more surprising when, at the stroke of midnight, there were a lot of couples kissing.

"Happy New Year, Char," she suddenly heard from behind her, and she turned to see Scott standing there.

"Happy New Year, Scott," she responded, blushing, before allowing him to lean forward and give her a soft kiss on the lips. "That doesn't mean that we're not anything more than friends, though, you do realise that?" she added with a grin and he chuckled.

"Of course not. I know that."

"Where's the Queen and Joe?"

"Her Majesty is over there with the Princess," she pointed to the two in a corner, Mia's arms around her grandmother and the older woman trying not to look uncomfortable- of course, she didn't enjoy public displays of affection. "And Joe… I think he's in the security hub for his shift."

"It's a pity that they didn't meet…?" he grinned at her and Charlotte tried to scowl at him but she couldn't- it was New Year's Day, the beginning of a new year and while she would continue to discourage his questions, she wouldn't badger him about it tonight.

0

It was almost one thirty in the morning when the last guest left and the Princess and her mother retired for the evening. Much of the cleaning up had been started when the guests began to disperse, but Charlotte wanted to have a last minute check of the rooms before she retired.

She was just coming out of the library- which was as a neat as a pin- intending on checking on the ballroom, when she froze in the doorway, looking at the scene before her.

She hadn't seen Joseph since before the countdown, and she had already bid Her Majesty good night, assuming that she would have retired for the evening, but she was surprised to see them together, strolling arm in arm, obviously back from a stroll in the garden.

Suddenly, Joseph stopped and turned to Her Majesty, gently pushing her back until her back was against the wall, his body almost pinning her against it and his arms resting gently on her waist.

"What are you doing?" she could hear Her Majesty murmur, but there was nothing of anger or fear in her voice- it was something relaxed and tender.

"Giving you another New Year's Eve memory," he said just as softly before he leaned over and pressed his lips against hers and Charlotte, who was pressing herself against the door frame, not wanting to be seen, knew that she was invading their privacy but she just couldn't help herself… it was so loving, so tender, so sweet- and so clearly not the first kiss they had shared.

When they finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against Clarisse's for a moment, both of their eyes closed.

"Happy New Year, Clarisse," his voice was husky and tender.

"Happy New Year, Joseph…." her voice was breathy and just as tender... "That is a memory that I will never forget."

"Good… now, I will escort you to your suite…" and they continued their walk, still arm in arm, as they walked upstairs, Charlotte still leaning against the door frame, tears misting her eyes at the scene she had just witnessed… they were falling in love!


	19. The Anniversary

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

Charlotte felt a little awkward around the Queen and Joseph for the following few days after the New Year's Eve ball- she had rejoiced over witnessing the scene between the two of them, the kiss especially, but she also was painfully aware that she had observed something that was meant to be private between the couple in question, and since the Queen was always observed, via security cameras and her bodyguards, she did deserve some moments that she didn't need to share with the entire world. But she couldn't help but feel happy for the two of them- they deserved every happiness in the world, but her happy feeling was coloured with a twinge of guilt- and her awkwardness was noted instantly by Joseph, as she suspected he would notice.

"Something bothering you, Charlotte?" he asked, pausing by her desk one morning after reporting to the Queen.

"No, nothing at all," Charlotte had started at first but then had quickly recovered.

"Are you sure? You seem a little… awkward around Her Majesty."

"I don't mean to be…. I'm just a little concerned about the trip to London at the end of the month- there are quite a few invitations for Her Majesty, but I'm not sure whether she will be able to answer all of them."

"Has Her Majesty seen them yet?"

"I was planning on taking them into her in a few minutes."

"Let her sort out which ones she wants to do… yes, I have a feeling that she will want to respond to every invitation, but I would suggest that you mention that there are time constraints while we're in London, and she'll understand."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Believe me, I think she will… but are you sure that you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Charlotte smiled at him reassuringly- she should have suspected that he would notice any change in behaviour, however minute, and she had to work even harder to cover her true feelings- and she was certain that he wouldn't be pleased if he knew the real reason for her awkwardness. "Really, Joe. I'm fine."

"Good… because I don't know what we would do without you, you've made yourself irreplaceable and indispensable."

"That's nonsense," Charlotte blushed. "But thank you for the compliment."

"It's the truth."

Thankfully, Scott was less than observant than Joseph and he didn't suspect a thing, although he couldn't resist asking whether she thought that the Queen and Joseph had kissed.

"I mean… they kind of snuck away at midnight, if only for a few minutes… that could have been the time when…."

"I don't think so, Scott- and, as usual, your imagination is running away with you... you can be such a romantic when you want to be," Charlotte teased, laughing when she saw the disgusted expression on Scott's face.

"Well…."

"Just because you didn't have a date for that night doesn't mean that you can match make with everyone around you, including Joe and the Queen."

"Well, I couldn't have a date because I had to work… speaking of, how come you didn't ask for the night off? I'm sure you would have been allowed to…."

"I didn't want to," Charlotte said pertly but she was relieved that Scott was distracted from the earlier question.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because it's none of your business," but she gave him a small smile and he smiled in return.

"Touché."

000

The next few months seemed to fly by as always, busy with paperwork, parliament, several trips to Europe, with the Queen being interested in another trip to the United States, not only to see Mia but also to introduce trade negotiations with the country- since Mia had accepted her royal title, relations between the countries had become friendlier (not that they hadn't been before, but Genovia had been considered a smaller, less important trade partner compared to other nations) and there were several business deals in the making. Parliament had been 'delighted' with the developments (even the Von Trokan and Mabrey camps were interested), and while it made more paperwork, emails and telephone calls for Charlotte, she enjoyed dealing with the developments and it made her feel proud that Genovia was being considered more of a player in terms of world economics, even though there had been less interest before Mia had agreed to become a Princess.

In fact, Charlotte was so busy that it came almost as a shock when, with a glance at the calendar in late March, she realised that there were two significant anniversaries coming up- the second anniversary of the passing of King Rupert and, even more painfully, the first anniversary of the accident that had killed Mia's father, Prince Phillipe.

The anniversary of the King's passing was celebrated in the traditional style- a memorial church service, a ceremonial service at the cemetery and a quiet dinner with a few of Rupert's closest cronies (thankfully, neither the Von Trokans or Mabrey were considered of that ilk)- and Her Majesty conducted herself with dignity and class, as she always did- but the second anniversary was somewhat of a more delicate issue.

Charlotte could never forget that evening when Joseph had received the news and had requested her presence in the study when he had informed the Queen…..

" _Your Majesty… Clarisse…" Joseph began, mumbling slightly as the Queen stood up, her smile fading._

" _What's wrong, Joseph? Charlotte?" she asked with a twinge of concern in her voice._

" _Why don't you come and sit down on the sofa?" Charlotte offered, seeing that Joseph was seemingly speechless._

" _Of course… but what's wrong?" Her Majesty's eyes were still on Joseph as she walked slowly towards the sofa in the corner of the room. "Joseph… please tell me," her voice suddenly had more than a twinge of panic in it and Charlotte ached again. "It's not Pierre, is it?"  
_

 _"No, Clarisse, it's not Pierre," Joseph finally said as he sat down beside her on the sofa and took one of her hands in his, Charlotte still standing above them but turning a blind eye to what she was witnessing._

" _Then… what, Joseph?" her voice turned soft._

" _My darling…." His voice was even quieter than Her Majesty's and Charlotte felt tender at the term of endearment he had just given Her Majesty…_

" _Joseph…."  
_

 _"It's Phillipe…."  
"No….no, no no… don't say anything," Her Majesty tried to pull her hand away from his but he kept a firm hold on it. "It's not true… you can't say it so it's not true…"_

She waited until Her Majesty was occupied with writing letters in her study (and Charlotte wasn't needed at the time) before Charlotte made her way to the security hub which, thankfully was almost empty at the time, except for Joe and a couple of the younger men, most of whom were occupied, watching the television screens that came from the cameras that were dispersed around the palace and the grounds.

"Hi, Charlotte. Is something wrong?" Joseph looked momentarily surprised to see here.

"No, nothing's wrong- but I do need to talk to you," and her grave tone and expression made Joseph realise that it was something serious as his expression changed to match hers.

"Come into my office," he offered and he followed her in, closing the door behind her and then sinking into his chair. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I was just looking at the calendar and… I realised that… that the anniversary is coming up."

"I know," Joe looked grave and Charlotte realised that he too had come to same conclusion, if not earlier than her.

"There's nothing at all on that week, I've made sure of that…but… is there… is there anything we should do?"

"You're a very thoughtful, kind woman, Charlotte and I appreciate that you're thinking of Her Majesty and whether there was anything we can do for her… but I have the feeling that that day will be a very, very quiet day indeed."

"So….?"

"We'll just leave her be, that's all we can do."

000

As Joseph had predicted, the anniversary of Prince Phillipe's death dawned fine and bright, but the atmosphere in the palace was quite subdued, the palace staff being extra quiet in awareness of the day and Her Majesty's feelings.

Charlotte was expecting a quiet day at her desk, dealing with more paperwork and fielding calls from the press, who would inevitably be calling for a 'comment' from the palace, to add to their memorial editions of the newspapers and television shows, but she was more than a little surprised when, a little after nine, Her Majesty walked quietly into the room, clad in black again and, while looking pale and tired, was composed.

"Good morning, Charlotte."

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Is there anything on for today?"

"No, ma'am…." Charlotte said respectfully, hoping that she hadn't pushed the envelope by presuming to clear her schedule (and Joseph had firmly approved) but the Queen didn't seem to be listening, she seemed distracted, not that Charlotte could blame her.

"Good, good… well, I'll be in my study…" and she almost floated past Charlotte's desk and into her study, closing the door gently behind her.

Charlotte stared at the closed door for a moment before she was startled by the sound of a ringing phone and sighed- the press was already starting to hound the palace.

To her surprise, however, it wasn't a journalist on the line, it was the Princess.

"Hi, Charlotte… is it too early to call?"

"Good morning, Princess, and no, it's not too early to call. How are you?"

"I'm fine, busy as usual- I'll be so glad when school is over for the summer…" she sighed for a moment and there was a pause on the line.

"Was there something I could do for you, Princess?"

"Um… this might sound a little silly but… I know that today is… the anniversary of Dad's accident and…." the young girl paused again before continuing, sounding vulnerable and young. "I… just wanted to call and let Grandma know that we're thinking of her today."

"That's a beautiful gesture, Princess… did you want me to see if Her Majesty would like to speak to you."

"Oh no, no, no, I don't think… I don't know… I just wanted to call and see if she's okay."

"Princess," Charlotte began gently. "I'm just going to put you on hold for a moment and I'm going to see Her Majesty… I think that you should speak to her yourself," she added and then pressed the 'on hold button' before the Princess could protest. She was just about to enter the study when Joseph stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Charlotte… is Her Majesty in her study or upstairs?"

"She's here, she just arrived…. Um… the Princess is on the line and wanted to know about Her Majesty… I was wondering… do you think Her Majesty should speak to her?"

"Yes," he nodded after a moment's careful consideration. "I think she needs to hear from Mia… was that you were going to do, go in there?" he nodded towards the closed door.

"Yes… but I think you should tell her yourself."

"Nervous about facing her?" he said teasingly but there was no smile on either of their faces. "No, but I think… I think… you should do it," and Charlotte turned away from him as he opened the door and stepped in, almost closing it behind him and Charlotte was moving away but she could still hear the soft murmuring of words.

"Clarisse?"

"Yes… Joseph?"

"Mia's on the line, she rang to find out about how you were."

"That's very sweet of her, tell her that," and there was a slight tremble in her voice.

"I think you should talk to her yourself," Joe sounded tender but firm.

"Joseph… I don't think I can…" and this time, there was definitely a tremble in her voice, as if she was fighting back tears.

"You can, my darling and you have to- she's your granddaughter, Phillipe's daughter, and you need each other."

"But…."

"You can do it," he said in a firmer, stronger voice and there was a long silence before Charlotte heard the Queen take a long, deep, shaky breath in.

"I can do it…."

"Good girl…" and there was a long pause before, in a much stronger voice, the Queen said: "Mia! I'm so glad that you called."


	20. Busy Days

_A/N: Two chapters in one day!_

 _Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

Charlotte didn't know how it happened, but suddenly the days and weeks suddenly turned into months and years and the next few years seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.

"I guess when you're enjoying your job, time doesn't seem to matter," Joseph said pensively when Charlotte had mentioned her disbelief to him one day. "I've been here close to thirty years and it doesn't seem as though a day has gone by, it's as if I started only yesterday."

"What would that make Scott and the rest of your younger colleagues?"

"Still in nappies- which, at times, they seem to behave like… honestly, they can be such teenagers," he rolled his eyes and Charlotte laughed.

"Yes, I have to agree with you there."

"Anyway, to return to your other point, I can understand how your feeling… and I hope that you have enjoyed your time here so far."

"I didn't think you could enjoy your job… but while there have been ups and downs over the years, it's certainly kept things interesting around here."

"And, as I've mentioned before, you've certainly proved yourself indispensable around here- Her Majesty certainly appreciates all your efforts."

"I know that… and you're just as indispensable, if not more," she looked at him pointedly and he blushed.

"Well, we're both indispensable…and neither of us can appreciate compliments!"

"All I can say is that Her Majesty is certainly fortunate to have two such modest friends and employees!"

It was true, Her Majesty certainly considered them both friends, although there was very little physical evidence that proved it- she was still as quiet, dignified and reserved as always, but as the years had gone by, Charlotte had seen a subtle change in her reserve and her personality- yes, she was still as reserved and composed as ever, but Charlotte could sense that she was letting her guard down, relaxing a little more, letting people see the other side of her, the side that very few saw and had kept hidden for most of her marriage to the late King. Charlotte attributed much of the change to her granddaughter, their relationship strengthening and deepening over the years as the young Princess grew older and more interested in her heritage and the Queen getting to know her granddaughter as that, as well as educating her in her role and responsibilities as Princess and future Queen.

But Charlotte also attributed the softening of the Queen's emotional reserve to Joe- it was clear to her (and she hoped that it wasn't clear to the rest of the staff, Scott was already a handful with his continued insistence in pursuing the matter of Joe and Clarisse) that their relationship was steadily deepening and that they were falling in love, although Charlotte knew that they were trying to be discreet and Charlotte was doing all she could to ensure that they had as much privacy as they could.

It was difficult, however, to ignore the knowing looks that the maids gave her on occasion, particularly after a ball or state dinner, when Joseph escorted the Queen back to her suite and the Queen often dismissed the maids from helping her get undressed. One of the maids, Priscilla, even attempted to initiate questions with Charlotte, but Charlotte was quick to dismiss any rumours.

"Come on, Charlotte, it's clear that Joe really likes Her Majesty… do you know if she likes him back?"

"I'm only her personal assistant, I'm not her maid- you and Olivia spend more time with Her Majesty than I do… you must have some idea."

"No, not really- but you're her personal assistant and you spend time with both of them…."

"I do but I'm not going to dignify your questions with answers- and you really should be careful about what you say and who you talk to- I may have to mention it to Mrs Cowt, the housekeeper, and I don't think she would be too happy to hear that you're trying to gossip about her… and your… boss."

Priscilla's eyes widened at Charlotte's words, even as she blushed, and she started stammering an apology as soon as Charlotte stopped talking.

"I….I'm sorry… I… promise that…. I… I won't say… a word…" and she was good as her word, although it didn't stop some of the other maids giving her knowing looks despite Charlotte's warning.

Scott didn't help matters by continuing to make cheeky asides, but once Charlotte had warned him that she would go to Joseph again about his 'gossip mongering' and that the consequences wouldn't be as easy as they had been the first time (Charlotte assumed that he had gotten a stern warning from Joseph) and he subsided. But he too kept giving knowing looks to Charlotte whenever they met in the hallway, particularly when they saw Joe and the Queen walking closely together.

Even the princess was suspicious- not as much as everyone else, but the girl was observant and she had noticed that her grandmother and Joe spent quite a bit of time together, as she pointed out to Charlotte during her last visit.

"Joe is her Head of Security as well as her personal bodyguard- it's natural that they spend quite a bit of time together, particularly as he is in charge of arranging her security, your security and security for members of parliament."

"But still… have you ever seen that film… 'The Bodyguard'?"

"I have, Princess but it sounds as though you have watched it too many times," Charlotte teased her gently and Mia giggled along with her. "How is Michael and Lily?"

She already knew that Mia and Michael had broken up on the eve of Mia leaving for college, opting to remain friends (and it was a decision that Charlotte knew Clarisse approved of, despite liking Michael) but she wanted to ask Mia herself.

"I know Grandma would have told you we broke up," Mia gave her a sly grin and Charlotte had the grace to blush.

"I… I…."

"But thank you for asking, I really appreciate it. I'm fine- we were better off as friends, and he's busy with his band… besides, I know Grandma thought we were too young to be in a relationship."

"She… she was only worried about you," Charlotte felt that she had to defend her boss and friend, but Mia was still grinning.

"I know, she was right… but don't tell her I told you that!"

"I won't, Princess. I promise."

000

The Princess herself was growing in confidence by leaps and bounds- every summer, she returned to Genovia to continue her education with her grandmother and the prime minister, attend a growing number of public appearances, usually associated with the charities she had first visited on her first visit (all of whom were clamouring for her patronage, much to her surprise: "Why me? I'm only a girl! A teenager!"; "You have something they want and they obviously think that you have something to offer them, which you do") as well as attending a couple of sessions of parliament.

Once she had started college, with specialities in politics, foreign affairs and diplomacy ("I hope that they aren't as boring as they sound"), and she had a wider reading range, her ideas and suggestions were based more on what she had learnt and her developing ideas, she was able to contribute more to discussions, even daring to speak up in official meetings, sounding timid and shy but both Sebastian and the Queen welcomed her ideas.

"She's a lovely young woman and she'll definitely be a breath of fresh air in parliament when she comes of age," Sebastian commented to the Queen and Charlotte after one such meeting.

"Hopefully she will be given time to adjust to her responsibilities full time once she comes of age- hopefully they're not going to push her on the throne immediately," Clarisse bit her lip, looking concerned. Charlotte knew that, given the growing unrest with certain members of parliament ("we should either be running the country ourselves or there should be a true, full blooded Renaldi heir to the throne ruling" was what some people were murmuring amongst themselves, according to Joseph, Sebastian and Charlotte's contact in the Attaché Corps) and now knowing that there was another heir to the throne, they were keen to force the Queen abdicating and embrace a new generation.

However, the Queen's concern was not only based on her concern for Mia and parliament itself in trying to force the Queen off the throne, but the possibility of what they were going to do with Mia when she was eventually on the throne.

"I'm hoping that as well, Your Majesty, but you know how these men are when they get an idea into their heads."

"I know that very well… but is there anything we can do to possibly prevent….this eventuality occurring? I'm not saying that she's not capable of ruling, but…."

"I know, Your Majesty- I share your concerns, but I don't think there's anything that we can do to stop whatever they want to do… as the law states, once a heir reaches the age of maturity (in this instance, 21), there is no legal impairment that prevents them from succeeding the monarch onto the throne- unless of some physical incapacity or disability. We cannot create problems (and ammunition) in ignoring that law- and there are certain members of parliament that would consider that as a way of completely wresting the throne away from the Renaldi family."

"They couldn't do that!" the Queen looked shocked and even Charlotte was horrified.

"They shouldn't, and I hope that I'm wrong… but they could attempt to try, if…."

"I stand in their way."

"Yes."

However, the Queen kept all of her concerns and worries away from Mia (and told Charlotte that she had to as well, not that Charlotte hadn't been intending on doing that anyway) and was, as always, calm and composed, praising her when it was due and giving 'constructive criticism' when it was necessary- and it was clear, with her growing confidence, that Mia appreciated all of what the Queen was telling her.

"She's an extraordinary woman," Mia said to Charlotte admiringly as she was leaving to return to San Francisco for her junior year at college. "She's seen so much, done so much and gone through things that normal people wouldn't have, and yet…she's amazing."

"Yes, she's quite an extraordinary woman," Charlotte agreed- the princess echoed her sentiments exactly. "But if you are anything like her (and I suspect that you are), then you will be just as extraordinary, in your own way."

000

During that time, Joseph was as busy as Charlotte, if not more- aside from arranging security details and ensuring that the Queen and Princess were well protected at all times, he also had his own paperwork, as well having several training sessions with his men every year as well as attending conferences and workshops to upgrade his (and his team's) skills.

"Security is always such a tricky business, particularly when there are so many different ways of breaching security- the internet has been one of the worst inventions in existence, I feel- and the constant upgrading… it's wearisome," Joseph complained after one occasion.

"You sound that you are a technophobe," Charlotte teased gently.

"Not necessarily," he frowned. "There are some aspects of technology that I enjoy- the walkie talkies, the cameras… but the internet… it may be useful, but it's also a source of problems."

Despite his gripes about technology, Joe was a very competent bodyguard ("more than competent, he's a genius!" Scott had admitted on one occasion) and it was clear that everyone liked and trusted him- the Queen included- and no one had to fear of the Queen's safety while he was around. He took holidays only when necessary and came to work even if he was sick (although the Queen had insisted, on one occasion when he was really, really sick with pneumonia, that he stay in bed for a couple of days, and she even had a doctor visit several times) - he was hard working, loyal and honest and everyone respected him.

He was also stubborn as well, as evidenced when, two winters after Mia's return to the Queen's life, he began limping around the palace.

"Just a little arthritis in the knees, nothing to worry about," he insisted on several occasions when everyone had asked him whether he was alright. "It's only in the winter when it's really bad, I never limp during the summer, as you have noticed."

Despite his insistence (growing ever more irritated after a while) that he was fine, his knees began getting worse over the ensuing months and it was the summer before Mia's college graduation that the Queen, fed up with his irritated denials and everyone asking whether he was alright, insisted that he visit a doctor and find out what was wrong.

"It's arthritis, that's all."

"That's nonsense and we both know it. You need to see a doctor- you may need a knee replacement or two and that is nothing in today's world… Besides," she continued after a moment, feeling awkward but knowing that she had to insist. "I cannot have a Head of Security who is not fit for duty…."

"Are you saying that I'm not fit for duty?" he looked insulted.

"I'm not saying that… but you need to consider whether it would be fair to you if you cannot protect my safety… I don't want to lose you as my bodyguard, but…."

"I understand," he suddenly realised that he was being selfish and not being fair to Clarisse herself- it would be all his fault if something happened to her and he wasn't able to protect her as well as she deserved to be. "I'll do it."

The doctor insisted that he needed knee replacements, but would be able to return to work by the end of the summer.

"Just because you have knee replacements doesn't mean that you can't continue in your current role, although I have to insist that I don't think you should be doing much serious physical activity from now on."

When his operation was scheduled, Joseph requested Charlotte and Clarisse that the Queen remain at the palace for the summer, any overseas trips to be put off until after the summer.

"Why? Don't you trust us? Scott? The rest of the team?" Charlotte teased but Joseph was stony faced.

"I trust you all but I much prefer if things aren't organised until after the summer- I think that would be a perfectly reasonable request."

"Alright, alright, it should be fine- the summers are usually the quietest time of the year."

"Good."

The day of the operation, Charlotte could see that Her Majesty was a nervous wreck, despite trying to hide the fact- she paced her study several times every hour, popped her head around the door to ask if Charlotte had heard anything from the hospital and even venturing out to look for a book in the library but the book remained on her desk as she shuffled papers, pretending to be busy.

At long last, the hospital rang and informed Charlotte (she and Her Majesty, as well as Scott, were listed as his emergency contacts) that "Mr Bonnell was out of theatre and in recovery, resting well, the surgery went well," and when Charlotte told the Queen exactly what the hospital (the Queen was insisted on 'telling me exactly what they said'), the anxious expression that had been on her face all day suddenly disappeared into a bright, relieved grin.

"Good. Good. Thank goodness. Did the hospital say whether he was up to visitors?"

"They didn't say anything, but I'm sure that you should be allowed… you are the Queen, after all."

"Good. Get a car and a security team ready," the Queen said distractedly, brushing past her and out the door and Charlotte literally had to leap into action- judging by her behaviour, if the car wasn't ready quick smart, she would literally walk to the hospital.

000

Joseph recovered from his operation much, much faster than Charlotte had expected, but she suspected that his incentive was that he wanted to get back to work and step back into his main role as the Head of Security, looking after the Queen, and by the end of August, he was back in the 'driver's seat' as Scott had described to Charlotte on his first day back.

"I'm glad he's back, though."

"Because you missed him?"

"No, because I can go back to being 2IC and avoid all that stupid paperwork!" he joked and Charlotte looked at him in horror before he sobered up. "I was just joking, Char- I missed him as well, and he's a pretty good boss."

Her Majesty was not quite as open with her feelings as everyone else was, but it was easy to sense that she was pleased to see Joseph back again, and Charlotte couldn't help but that notice that Joe was just as pleased to back in Her Majesty's company (not that he hadn't been away too long, and everyone had visited him in his room), as judging by the twinkle in his eye and the small smile on his face as he kissed her hand in greeting on the morning of his return, Charlotte already being in the room.

"I take that you're glad to be getting back to work," the Queen said with a smile and Joe nodded as their eyes met and held.

"Indeed, Your Majesty- I'm definitely interested in seeing how much of a mess Scott made in my office."

"Scott and his team did quite well in your absence- we did as you requested and kept public appearances to a minimum- it's just as well as Mia decided to spend the summer in San Francisco, although she may have appreciated the quiet time here as well- but now that you're back," her expression turned business like as she gently extricated her hand from his grip. "Things have to go back to normal here as well…and there is quite a lot to do before Christmas."

"Well, I'm back and ready to work," he said with a wink at Charlotte.

"Good," before the Queen strode back around her desk, pausing before she sat down to say: "Welcome back Joseph, it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, ma'am."


	21. A Major Problem

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

After the chaos of the past few months, Charlotte had hoped that, for a time, life at the palace would be uncomplicated, although she knew that she was being unrealistic, considering that there were several issues that were poised to cause potential trouble in the time to come- parliament was still ever looming, Pierre still hadn't returned to Genovia, despite promises that he would, the Von Trokans were still angling for a seat in parliament (and there were rumours that they were considering ever desperate measures) and the Princess was approaching her 21st birthday and, as such, would be considered eligible to ascend the throne, according to an outdated law.

Her Majesty, Joseph, Charlotte and Sebastian were all hoping that this law would not be invoked, that parliament would allow the young woman some additional time to get used to her new responsibilities, but Charlotte was devastated when, just prior to Christmas, she received word from her former boss that there was a growing group of members that were planning on invoking the law during the final session.

"They can't… surely not!"

"I can't say for sure, Charlotte, but I have heard several stories from several different sources and… the more stories that I hear, the more concerned I am that this actually may occur."

"But…."

"We both know that they shouldn't do it, not ethically anyway, not if they had any sense of loyalty to the late King and the Queen herself, but… if they want to do it, they will."

"What good will come out of it? The Princess has got another six months before she graduates, before she turns twenty one."

"I'm not quite sure they even know what they want, but I have an inkling that… some of these desperate men will try and discredit the Princess as quickly as they can so that they can force her to abdicate… frighten her into stepping down just as she had stepped up."

"They can't do that… surely they wouldn't be that vengeful."

"You don't know some of these men, Charlotte, particularly men such as Arthur Mabrey and his cronies. They are obsessed with power and gaining the throne for their own means- and if it means completely destroying the royal family of Genovia, so be it. I am horrified at the possibility of this happening, but… you need to be prepared."

"What should I do? Who should I speak to?"

"At the moment, definitely do not say anything to the Queen- she has enough on her plate as it is, for this final session of the year and preparing for the Princess's arrival next year. I suspect that if I have my sources, Joseph and Sebastian have their own and already have been forewarned."

"So…."

"I want you to be prepared for the session of parliament, know what the Palace and the Queen are up against and be prepared to continue supporting Her Majesty no matter what… her and Her Royal Highness."

"Is this why Prince Pierre hasn't returned?"

"In part, but mainly because parliament was so cruel towards him when he chose to abdicate the throne for his theological studies. You may have seen comments in the press, but behind the scenes… they were really awful and I actually don't blame him for not returning to Genovia."

000

Charlotte's former boss's instincts had proved correct- in the final session of parliament, just after the general meeting notes had been read out, Viscount Arthur Mabrey stood up and declared:

"Since Her Royal Highness will be due to turn twenty one the following June, I would like to move a motion that upon her birthday, she is to ascend the throne of Genovia and Her Majesty steps down from the throne, signing the Instrument of Abdication."

There was a long awkward silence, Charlotte, although she had been forewarned (and had wished that she had been able to confide in someone, even Joseph), shocked enough to stop taking notes and looking around the room, before the silence was broken immediately as, almost as one, parliament stood up and began shouting amongst themselves, some of them shaking their fists at Viscount Mabrey while others were arguing with each other. Viscount Mabrey, however, was silent- and he was gazing directly at Her Majesty, almost frozen on er chair, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Sebastian was banging his gavel loudly and angrily, shouting "Subside, Honoured members of this body' but Charlotte was watching Her Majesty and she could see, for a moment, that she had been blindsided, the complete surprise flickering across her face momentarily before her expression was wiped clean and she gazed icily down towards Viscount Mabrey.

Finally, the frantic banging of the gavel calmed the men down and they finally took their seats again and silence reigned again before Sebastian spoke.

"Sir, what are your reasons for your motion?"

"The Genovian law states that when the heir to the throne comes of age- which is 21- they are able to ascend the throne as the new monarch of the country. Seeing as Her Royal Highness will turn 21 on her arrival next June, I feel that it would be the perfect time for her to ascend the throne… with no disrespect to Her Majesty and her long years of service to her country," his eyes turned back to the Queen again and he gave her a small nod of the head.

"Is that your only reasoning?"

"I also feel, and there are a few others who feel this way," he waved his arms around the room at the watching parliamentarians. "We feel that there should be a true blood Renaldi family member on the throne- we greatly regret the loss of the Crown Prince and His Majesty, so it's natural that we should have someone who reigns, who is actually a member of the royal family… again, no disrespect to Her Majesty."

"What about experience? The young woman in question has only just finished college, she has only returned to Genovia every summer for a few months… Her Majesty has been ruling for years," spoke up another member of parliament.

"Doesn't the saying go that you 'learn on the job'?" Mabrey smirked at the speaker. "I'm sure that Her Royal Highness is more than capable of learning as she goes along."

"If your reasoning is what you have for this argument, how come the Crown Prince Phillipe wasn't immediately put on the throne when the King passed away? Or either Prince ascend the throne on their twenty first birthdays?"

"That was His Majesty's decision," Mabrey scowled. "We cannot question his decisions and, at that time, they were appropriate for the time… but now… it's time for things to change..." and again, his eyes lingered on Her Majesty, who remained frozen in her seat but her expression unchanged. "Out with the old, in with the new…. Am I right, Your Majesty?"

000

Charlotte and the Queen had only just returned to Her Majesty's study after the session of parliament when Joseph stormed into the room, a face like thunder. Charlotte suspected that he probably would have been nearby- he hadn't been able to accompany them to the session, Scott instead did that- and Scott would have immediately told him what was going on as soon as he could… and it was only a matter of time until he stalked into the study.

The trip back from parliament had been quiet- the Queen had seemingly recovered from the blindside to participate in the session, even quite spiritedly, but once the session had been over, she had withdrawn into herself, barely registering the sympathetic touch on the shoulder Sebastian had given her, and Charlotte was concerned- she was actually relieved when Joseph appeared.

"Your Majesty, I cannot believe what I just heard… Are they insane?" he almost growled as Her Majesty sank slowly into a chair, her expression still unreadable but Charlotte could tell she was upset.

"They're not insane, Joseph, just interested in power. That's why Rupert got along so well with them," she said simply.

"But not so much that he would destroy his own family for the sake of power. Even the King wasn't that silly, we both know that."

"As you say," she shrugged and Joseph shot a concerned look at Charlotte before focusing his attention back on the Queen.

"But Viscount Mabrey's motion was ridiculous, there was very little reasoning about it- those reasons were just…. preposterous!" he almost stammered, clearly frustrated at parliament.

"But it's the truth…" Clarisse said gently, finally looking up at Joseph with a grave expression. "It's true- Mia comes of age at 21- and will be able to legally ascend the throne- and she is definitely a blood Renaldi- I am royal only by marriage," she gave him a tired smile. "There's nothing I can do."

"Surely… you're not going to allow them to steam roll over you and allow Mia to ascend the throne as soon as she's arrived? She's not ready for that."

"What do **you** suggest I do, Joseph?" the Queen suddenly snapped, looking up at him with a frown on her face. "Allow parliament to choose their own regent? Allow Viscount Mabrey to discredit my whole family- make my whole life seem as though it was a lie? That I wasn't a true Queen of Genovia?"

"That's what they will do if you accept what they want to do," he said in a softer tone, obviously taken aback by her sudden show of emotion. "Your reputation and all that you have done over the years will be tarnished."

"Are you more concerned about my reputation than anything else?" Clarisse suddenly flared up again as Charlotte, caught in the middle, tried to remain invisible as she slowly made her way towards the door.

"No, you know that's not true," Joseph said roughly as he pulled a chair up to hers and grabbed her limp hands in his own. "You know that's not true… I'm worried and I'm angry for you and for Mia….this is completely ridiculous… they're all idiots, serious idiots."

He paused for a moment, his expression grave as he continued looking at the Queen, who was looking at her hands. "So… what are you going to do?"

"Charlotte, tell him what they have decided," the Queen was looking at her hands and Joseph turned to look at Charlotte.

"Parliament was split on the motion- one of Viscount Mabrey's friends seconded the motion, but it wasn't able to pass."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" he looked back at Clarisse before back at Charlotte. "What happened then?"

"I thought you knew," Charlotte said with a sly smile, a smile that disappeared when he frowned at her.

"I want to hear it from someone who was actually there, not outside the room."

"Well…it was obvious that the Viscount wasn't going to back down, so...there was a compromise."

"Compromise? Why should you have to compromise with…. _them?"_

"Necessary," Clarisse said quietly. "It had to be done."

"So… what was the compromise?"

There was a long silence in the room and Charlotte really didn't have to be the one to tell Joseph this, but it was clear that Her Majesty wasn't.

"WHAT was the compromise?" Joseph repeated, his tone sharper. "Charlotte?"

"The Princess won't be ascending the throne immediately, once she returns to Genovia next June…"

"Which is good news."

"….But Her Majesty, when she feels the Princess is ready, will have to step down… and it has to be before next Christmas."

This time, the silence was for longer and was more ominous- even Charlotte didn't dare to look at either of them- before Joseph let out a long, heavy breath.

"Well… it's hardly ideal but… there is time, some time."

"But… there is still so much to do, so much she has to learn…."

"I have every confidence that she will handle everything perfectly well; and I have even more confidence that you will be able to handle training her as well as doing everything else….I believe in you," he reached over and tilted her chin up so that she was looking into his eyes. "Do you trust me when I tell you that?"

"I… I guess so," she stammered.

"And… do you believe that Mia will be able to handle whatever is thrown her way… even parliament?"

"I… I do," this time, her words were stronger and had more confidence in them.

"And… you're not going to let parliament steamroll you into making decisions that are crazy and wrong?"

"No, I'm not," she said firmly.

"Good," he said, reaching out and touching her cheek gently for a moment as Charlotte quietly slipped out of the room, thankfully unseen- she was getting caught up into too many private moments of Joe and the Queen's and she didn't think she should be privy to any more…

Life was certainly going to be just as interesting and full in the next few months, Charlotte thought to herself ruefully as she sat down at her desk….

She had been silly to think that life in the palace would ever be 'normal'… but even she didn't dream of how complicated life was going to be in the next few months….


	22. Twenty One

_Thanks to my readers and reviewers- it's been a while again!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

Her Majesty had wanted to attend Mia's college graduation the following June, but Sebastian and Joseph dissuaded her, for several important reasons- parliament was as restive as ever, and with an agreement in place for the Princess to ascend the throne at the end of the year, they were keen for her responsibilities to increase, as well as public appearances, and that summer was going to be far busier than previous years.

"It's as if they want to see how far they can push her," Joseph had muttered darkly to Charlotte upon seeing the adjusted summer schedule- of course, security had to be involved, and there had to be more this summer, as there were many guests flying in for the Princess's 21st birthday as well as the additional public appearances that the princess would have to do.

"How did she handle it when she heard about her 'not so quite' summer?" Charlotte asked curiously- Her Majesty had told her when she had told the Princess, and had said that she 'had handled it well', but maybe she had confided more in Joseph.

"She was really very reasonable- she sounded surprised, of course, but once Clarisse had explained it to her, she accepted it… she even professed that she was 'looking forward to it', but I bet she will change her mind once she had a session with the members of parliament."

"I'm sure she'll do fine," Charlotte said reassuringly. "I've seen her mature over the years and I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I have every confidence in her as well… but when dealing with those… jackals…"

"Tell me how you really feel," Charlotte teased gently. "Yes, some of them can be quite difficult, but I'm sure that things will change over time."

"I hope so."

0

Clarisse had been disappointed that she hadn't been able to fly to San Francisco for the college graduation, but it also made sense- there was a lot going on in the country, her schedule was going to be far busier than it had been in years, and she also didn't want to particularly leave parliament to its own devices, especially since the 'compromise' was reached the previous summer.

She had dreaded telling Mia- she would have preferred to tell her in person, but Mia had chosen to stay in America for Christmas that year, preparing for her final exams- but she had no choice- she had to be prepared- and she called her.

" _Oh," was the first word out of Mia's mouth after Clarisse had explained everything to her- the meeting, the motion, and the compromise. "That's not good, is it."  
_

 _"No, it's not good, my dear- and especially not good for you. I'm sorry that this has happened- I was hoping that they would give you some more time to prepare than_ _just six months."_

 _"Well….six months is better than coming back and immediately having a coronation ceremony," Mia said with a slight giggle in her voice and Clarisse was relieved- she was taking the news much better than she had expected. "You would definitely be busy if that was to happen….at least I get some time to get used to everyone else again."  
_

 _"You're taking it much better than I expected," Clarisse said with surprise and this time the younger woman laughed._

" _There's not much else I can do, is there? Besides, I have the feeling that my father would probably expect me to laugh it off, anyway. But… it's a little daunting, I'll have to admit that... I'm going to be Queen in less than a year…"  
_

 _"Don't dwell on that fact… that's still a long way off…."_

" _I won't be dwelling on it… I'm more worried about my finals, if I'm being honest."  
_

 _"You'll be fine, you're very bright and you'll do well."_

Of course, she had been disappointed when Clarisse had informed her that she wouldn't be able to attend her graduation ceremony, but ultimately, understood- although her grandmother didn't inform her of the reasons why she wasn't able to attend the graduation.

"She's going to find out soon enough when she gets here," she said briskly to Charlotte.

Thus, it was Joseph who flew to America to attend the ceremony and bring Mia home.

"I'm sorry that you aren't able to go yourself," he said to Clarisse the morning of his departure. "You should have been able to go."

"As you said it yourself, things here are just too unsettled for me to leave… besides, I was at her high school graduation and that counts for something. Safe travels…" her voice lowered as he moved closer to her and gently caressed her cheek. "I will miss you."

"I will miss you too," he said huskily before he pulled her forward for a kiss.

000

"Congratulations, Princess," Joseph said on the way to the airport- he, along with her mother and stepfather, had witnessed her graduation ceremony and he had been impressed by the way she had handled herself during the ceremony. She had admitted shyly beforehand that she was worried that she would trip during the ceremony, but he had reassured her that 'you will be fine' and Joe was proved correct- and he was struck by her graceful movements as well as the dignity of her bearing, just like her grandmother, but he knew that the summers in Genovia had only partly contributed to her maturity. The simple answer was that the Princess was growing up, a thought that gave him a pang of regret- he liked the young woman that she'd become but he would always have a soft spot for the young teenager that he had met five years ago on their first trip to San Francisco.

"You look thoughtful," the subject in question broke into his thoughts and Joseph pulled himself back into the present to look over at the young woman. "What were you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking of how much you have grown up in the past five years… I can still remember our first meeting at the consulate…"

"I hope I would have grown up- surely I can't be clumsy for the rest of my life!" the Princess said with a laugh.

"But it was an endearing type of clumsiness… even your father was clumsy when he was young."

"I bet he didn't break wine glasses at a state dinner or cause a chain reaction that drenched one guest, put Sebastian's face in his food and propelled grapes against a portrait."

"Well, not exactly that… but, in retrospect, you have to admit that it was rather amusing."

"I guess," but the small smile on her face told him that she had long since gotten over the embarrassing incident and found it funny. "So…. What's first up when we get back to Genovia?"

"Your 21st birthday party tomorrow evening."

"Is it always a tradition to hold a 21st birthday ball?"

"For members of the royal family, yes it is…"

"Who will be there?"

"Most of parliament, a few others… and I believe that your grandmother has invited a few of the young ladies you got to know when you were there for the summer."

"Is there anything I need to do… talk to members of parliament, dance with the married men….?"

"Well," he cleared his throat. "There is one tradition that you need to fulfil… you need to dance with all the single parliamentarians at the ball."

There was a long silence in the car, Joseph not looking directly at Mia, before Mia swallowed hard.

"You have got to be joking… what is the purpose of that?"

"To meet all the members of parliament…."

"Joe," Mia began slowly. "You don't think… it's horribly old fashioned… but is me dancing with all the single men tomorrow night… is it a way to find a potential husband?"

"I… I'm not sure…." Joseph stammered awkwardly- until recently (well, the last heirs to the throne were male, there was no need for introductions, as the King had reasoned), it had been the traditional way for royal princesses to meet their future husband (Clarisse herself had been betrothed to Rupert since she was seven, he knew that) but he knew that Clarisse had found it tedious and old fashioned and he could only imagine what the Princess, a modern young woman, would think.

"Wow. Lily would totally lose it if she was forced to do that," Mia said finally, thoughtfully. "She doesn't have a lot of patience with guys normally… imagine having to dance with all of the single men in parliament…and some of those guys are really old, aren't they?"

"There are a few of mature years, but most of them are in their twenties and thirties."

"In one word- old," Mia giggled as Joseph gave her a look and she burst out laughing. "But… Princess…"

"There's nothing I can do it about it," she said with a shrug. "They're already forcing me to ascend the throne at the end of the year, I suppose they can force me to marry someone I barely know."

"No one can force you do anything you don't want to do," Joseph said firmly and this time, Mia gave him a sad, wise smile, seeming far older than her years.

"Not if you are the heir to the throne…" but before Joseph could say anything more, argue the point that her grandmother wouldn't force her to marry someone before she was ready, Mia looked out the window.

"Wow, Genovia One is here… I thought that Genovia One was usually for Grandma and members of parliament."

"But it's also for your use as well… consider it a graduation gift from me, your own private trip on the plane," he joked and Mia rolled her eyes at him but grinned back at him.

"Thanks, Joe."

000

Back in Genovia, the palace was a hive of activity- not only was the Princess returning that day but the Princess's 21st birthday was to be held the following evening, as well as an emergency session of parliament the day after that, which meant that Charlotte was busier than ever (even busier than the Queen, who had her normal paperwork, but was also being a hostess to the guests who had already arrived for the celebrations)- but she made sure that she was outside, waiting to greet the Princess (and Fat Louis) upon her arrival and even she was struck at how grown up and mature the Princess seemed to be as she emerged from the car, she suddenly seemed so different… so _adult, so royal. She was going to make a fantastic Queen…._

"Hi Charlotte!" she suddenly gave her a broad warm smile and the girl that she had been (and still was) suddenly emerged. "This is it… no more trips back to America for school!"

"Welcome home, Princess," she curtseyed to her briefly and Mia only beamed happily back at her- Charlotte knew that it bothered her that she (and Joe) had to curtsey to her, but she had finally understood that it was part of protocol, as well as a sign of their respect for her.

"Thank you, Charlotte. It's going to be strange living here all the time…" she said, looking pensive before her expression changed and lightened. "Where's Grandma?"

"At the moment, she's in a meeting with parliament but she bid me to take you to her suite- your suite is unfortunately not ready yet- and she will be with you as soon as possible."

"Oh… that's alright…. and the ball is… tonight?"

"Yes… if you are not too tired."

"No, I'm fine, I slept on the plane…. When will I start getting ready?"

"Her Majesty will let you know about that… the guests arrive at six, but you don't make your entrance until seven…. At this ball, you arrive unaccompanied," Charlotte explained as she led the way into the palace and up the stairs towards Her Majesty's suite.

"Oh… okay," and this time the Princess sounded less certain. "And I have to dance with all the single men in parliament as well… hopefully there is not too many of them."

"About fifteen, Your Highness- and they include representatives from other European countries… but after that, your evening is your own," Charlotte added reassuringly as they came towards the Queen's suite, where the guards opened one of the doors. "I will see you later this evening, Your Highness… and welcome home."

00000

The ball began with a slight hiccup- the Princess's bracelet flew off her wrist as she waved to the guests standing down in the ballroom below her- and there were some interesting moments with some of the guests (such as one who couldn't speak English, another who was too old to dance, another who preferred dancing by himself) as well as a very awkward moment when a waiter knocked the Princess's crown off her head and into the hands of the hovering Viscount Mabrey (and Charlotte could see the momentary triumphant expression on his face) but thankfully, things returned to normal and, once she had completed her 'duty dances', the Princess was clearly relieved to be able to join her friends.

"Quite a successful evening," Her Majesty couldn't help but comment quietly to Charlotte as the evening drew to a close as guest began to depart for the evening- for once, Her Majesty allowed them to leave before she did, a softening of the protocols that were normally associated with balls. "Mia did quite well with the dancing."

"Yes, she did," Charlotte agreed- she had watched her accept, with grace, a dance with a twelve year old boy, which again proved that she had the makings of a good Queen.

"What was happening with the waiter and Viscount Mabrey?"

"Oh, nothing- the waiter accidentally knocked the Princess's tiara off her head and Viscount Mabrey caught it."

"Hmm…" the Queen's tone was non-committal but Charlotte could sense that she wasn't happy at the thought he had been so close to the Princess and actually handled the tiara. "Where is Joseph, by the way?"

"I think he is just overseeing some of the departing guests… did you want me to find him?"

She had actually been quite mortified to be a witness to yet another tender scene between them- and that there were two guards that had also witnessed it, but she knew that they, along with her, would not say anything, but Charlotte was a little concerned that they were growing a little more open with their relationship (which was a good thing, in many respects, but in some ways, particularly with parliament being the way they were at the moment…) and she didn't want either of them hurt.

The Queen, clearly delighted that Joseph was back, couldn't resist twirling around in her low backed apricot coloured ball gown, teasing him "That a Queen is never late, everyone is early" and touching his cheek after he had kissed her gloved hand. Yes, it was clearer than ever that they were in love, and Charlotte herself hoped that one day, possibly very soon in the future, that they would be married. Until then, however…

"I am here, Your Majesty," came his voice from behind them, and both the Queen and Charlotte turned to see Joseph walking back towards them from the hallway.

"I think I'm ready to retire for the night, everyone else seems to be leaving… where is Mia?"

"She and some of her friends have already retired for the evening… she wished to bid you good night but seeing that you were speaking to the Prime Minister, so she passed the message on through me."

"I see… but I can imagine that she would be tired as well. Good night, Charlotte," she turned to Charlotte. "Thank you for this evening, it turned out very well. You may go."

"Thank you… good night, Your Majesty, good night, Joe," before she left the ball room- it had been a long evening and even she was relieved to be finished for the evening.

She couldn't help but glance around as she started towards the door- the guest had all but gone and the palace staff were already in the ballroom, starting the tidying up after the party- and she saw Her Majesty and Joseph exiting out of the ballroom, arm in arm, talking quietly together, and there was a moment when they paused for a moment for Joseph to lift her hand to his mouth and kiss it lightly.


	23. Heartbreak

_A/N: Two chapters in a day! Wow! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!_

 _The Princess Diaries don't belong to me_

In years to come, Charlotte didn't know how she had managed to survive the ensuing summer months, let alone wonder how the future Queen, the present Queen and Joseph had managed to cope and deal with the many tiny hiccups that were thrown in their way during that time. Charlotte had hoped that, after the twenty first birthday ball, the Queen and the princess would be given the opportunity to really beginning to prepare the Princess for her ascension in December.

 _ **That**_ was what a normal, sensible person would have done, she thought to herself (and Scott had said many times in retrospect) but, after all Scott said, they were dealing with parliament and men obsessed with power… most especially Viscount Mabrey.

She should have realised that he had something up his sleeve- he had seemed too relaxed at the birthday ball, too happy to be present and to assist with helping the Princess with her tiara, but she didn't… until she heard of his plan the following day, taking notes for the Queen in a session of parliament.

" _An unmarried woman cannot be Queen…. luckily, there is another heir to the throne… who is ready to take his place as Genovia's rightful King..."_ he bowed slightly but his eyes remained on the horrified Queen who was standing up from her seat- and her reaction, while shocking some members of parliament, seemed entirely appropriate in this situation, to Charlotte.

" _SHUT UP!"_

Unfortunately, the shock wore off and the members of parliament were soon debating how soon the Princess would have to be married- but it had to be before she was to ascend the throne, they all agreed on that.

" _30 days!"_ Lord Palimore's voice loudly decreed the set amount of time needed- just one month! Charlotte couldn't believe that, and she could see, from the expression on the Queen's face, she couldn't believe her…. and Charlotte didn't know what the Princess was going to say….

000

"How did she take it?" Scott asked Charlotte in a low voice much later in the day, once the Queen and the Princess had retired for the evening and Joseph was busy on a tour of the perimeter. The palace kitchens were empty, the staff having also retired for the evening, but there was always food and coffee available for the staff who were working later.

"Well, I wasn't actually there to see when Her Majesty informed her- they were in the throne room- but… I can imagine that she was shocked, stunned…"

"I would be… not only has she got to be Queen by the end of the year but she also has to be married… and an arranged marriage, no less!" He looked disgusted. "How did the Queen take the news?"

"Well… she didn't say much but…." Charlotte trailed off as she remembered after the parliament session…

 _The room emptied quickly, leaving only Her Majesty, Charlotte and the Prime Minister- of course, Viscount Mabrey couldn't help but throw one last smirk at the Queen on his departure- and there was a heavy silence for a moment before the Prime Minister spoke._

" _Well… that was… unexpected."  
_

 _"I wish I could say that it was… I suspected the Viscount would do something like that… not necessarily that law as such, but throw an impediment in the works…" Her Majesty sighed tiredly as she slowly stood up, looking older than her years for a moment. "I never thought I would see that law invoked… ever."  
_

 _"I am sorry, Your Majesty… if there was anything I could do… but there was a majority rule…"  
_

 _"I know, I know, I appreciate that…. Now, we're going to have to find some appropriate young men for Mia to vet… such is the age of a modern Genovian royal marriage," she sounded bitter for a moment. "Charlotte," she suddenly turned to Charlotte, who had been sitting on her other side. "Would you be able to gather a number of names together in the next few days? I'll speak to Joseph, he'll be able to help, in some way…" she trailed off before she stood up and made her way down from the booth, walking slowly down the empty room and out the door._

"How did Joe find out about it?"

"Prime Minister Motaz gave him a call… he wasn't here when Her Majesty came back but I made sure that Joseph called him back… and… well… I have never seen him that angry in a long, long time…."

"Yes, he was almost too angry to speak when he came into the study… but I assume that the Queen calmed him down, or he comforted her…."

"I wonder how that happened?" a grin suddenly burst onto his face and even Charlotte couldn't help but smile at his words.

"I wouldn't know," she said simply and they grinned at each other for a moment before the smile disappeared from his face as quickly as it had appeared.

"So… you and Joseph have to compile a list of appropriate candidates for the Queen and Mia to vet?"

"Yes, we have to have it done by Thursday… but, hopefully by then, there should be something else to look forward to…."

"Like what?"

"You're going to have to wait and see," she smiled mysteriously at him.

00000

The arrival of the Princess's best friend, Lily, on the Thursday, was one of the bright moments of the week (although the Princess's pleasure when she finally moved to her own suite, down the hall from the Queen's, was another bright moment) and the Princess's excitement and pleasure to see her delighted Charlotte, her grandmother and Joseph, although the excitement dimmed a great deal when they gathered in the library to go through the slide show of 'potential husbands' that Charlotte and Joseph had compiled for them.

The Princess and her friend sat in the front row with two boxes of Genovian pear popcorn while Charlotte, the Queen and Joseph (sitting on a stool, handling the slide show via a remote) sat behind them.

It was amazing at how many men they had managed to find, the Queen giving a hum of approval at the picture of Prince William, which, to Charlotte's amusement, scandalised Joseph with a _"Your Majesty!"_

Charlotte also couldn't help but notice that, when restless, Her Majesty stood up and wandered up behind her chair, next to Joseph and she, out of the corner of her eye, could see him reach over and touch her shoulder gently for a moment before the slide show continued.

It took some time, but they finally found an 'appropriate' (or, to quote the princess, _"he seems decent"_ ) future husband for Mia- Lord Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kennilworth.

"I will call his family tomorrow and discuss the situation, and hopefully he would be amenable to such an agreement," Her Majesty said once the young people had gone upstairs and it was only Charlotte and Joseph present.

"Are you sure that he will agree to it?" Joseph was unusually edgy, but Charlotte couldn't blame him, she wasn't enthusiastic about the plan either (again, _what on earth was parliament thinking?_ ) but there seemed to be no other solution…

"Wouldn't you, if you were asked to marry the future Queen of Genovia?"

"I wouldn't condone an arranged marriage for two people after only a month."

"What WOULD you have me do, Joseph?" the Queen finally snapped, glaring at him as she stood and strode towards him. "I am trapped either way I turn, and I'll be _damned_ if I'm going to let Viscount Mabrey take the throne for his nephew! It's bad enough that I have to have Lord Devereaux stay here just so I can see if there is any mischief going on…."

"That was your idea," Joseph protested.

"True, but I despise having to do it just to keep an eye on a conniving snake…I… I…." she paused for a moment, seemingly losing steam, before heaving a deep sigh. "Anyway, there is nothing I can do, so this is what I must do. If you have any suggestions, Joseph, please feel free to give me them…. until then… good night, Joseph and Charlotte," before she brushed past him and exited the library.

Charlotte and Joseph stood there silently for a moment, stunned at the Queen's outburst, before Joseph sighed as he unplugged the computer and began rolling up the cords.

"Joe…."

"I know… I just feel helpless- it's unfair to the both of them, but I too don't want the Von Trokans or Mabrey on the throne….we'll just have to make the best of it, I suppose."

000

Happily, the young Lord Jacoby was willing to accept an arranged marriage, and it was only a week later that the Princess and the Duke announced their engagement.

Both looked as happy as they could be, given the situation, Charlotte reflected after the presentation to the people, but surely… there had to be some doubts. The young man came from a good family, was well educated, kind, intelligent and generous, as well as handsome- but there surely had to be more to contribute to a marriage- what about love, passion- and while Mia clearly liked him, it wasn't enough… she was far too spirited for him.

The maids were whispering (never in hearing of the Queen or even Charlotte, but she had her sources who informed her of what others were saying) that there was a fiery, spirited flirtation between the Princess and the visiting Lord Devereaux, although whenever they met, it seemed to end badly- such as the garden party, when the Princess met her grandmother after having fallen into the fountain with said Lord Devereaux.

"When will she ever grow up?" the Queen groaned quietly to Charlotte later that evening, once the Princess had gone to change and Lord Devereaux was again chatting with Lily.

"She is trying, Your Majesty."

"But trying not hard enough….honestly, I don't need this right now!"

It was true- the Queen did not need additional hiccups, albeit accidentally, provided by the Princess- parliament, while being out of session for the summer, were a constant presence at the palace; the press were making constant theories in the papers and on the television about the upcoming wedding and whether it would actually happening; Lord Devereaux, while a nice young man, was causing mischief by just being present at the palace… and almost more importantly than anything else… Joseph had proposed to the Queen a week after the Princess's arrival.

Thankfully, there were few details about the proposal itself, aside from being in the garden pagoda and the gardens being discreetly waved away as the Queen and Joseph discussed the latest incident with the Princess (being caught in a closet with Lord Devereaux) but one of the gardeners reported to Charlotte later (and he promised that he had not told anyone else about what he had witnessed), they were chatting quietly in the pagoda, sitting down next to each other, before he took her fingers in hers…..

It was what Charlotte had been hoping for a long time (and she knew that the Queen wanted that too, although she never revealed her feelings to most, and even Charlotte had only seen a softening in her in the recent years, although she had seen moments between her and Joe) and she knew that it was a clear and easy decision, but as the days and weeks slowly passed, and the Queen began looking more and more tired, more stressed and….more withdrawn…. Charlotte realised, sharply, that the decision was threatening to tear her apart…and then, the scene in the ballroom… a scene that she had tried to creep out of but she was frozen to the spot, horrified at what she was witnessing…

" _Have you been thinking about us?"_

" _Yes… yes I have,"_ she said slowly, raising her head from his shoulder- they had been dancing only moments earlier- and Joseph regarded her for a long moment, the silence between them growing, and it wasn't a peaceful silence either.

" _I see,"_ before he began walking away and the Queen, revealing more emotion than she had in a while, ran after him, arms outstretched, trying to grab at his hand but Joseph kept pulling away.

" _You have to understand, it's the monarchy, as Queen it's my responsibility..."_

Suddenly, Joseph turned back to her- yes, he was losing patience with her, Charlotte could see that, but she sensed that he was hoping that she had changed her mind, she was going to say yes… but before Her Majesty could say anything, he spoke:

" _Clarisse, you were the someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. However, if you wish to see me as your Head of Security, I shall oblige... Your Majesty,"_ he bowed his head to her and then stalked back out through the curtains he had entered, leaving the Queen alone in the ballroom.

Charlotte took several beats, giving the older woman a chance to gather her emotions, before she stepped into the room, pretending that everything was normal and she hadn't witnessed that heartbreaking scene… but she obviously hadn't waited long enough when….

" _CAN'T I have just one_ _ **second**_ _to myself?"_ Clarisse suddenly almost shouted, tearfully, as she turned away from Charlotte, her hands trembling with anguish before, a second later, she turned back to Charlotte with an apologetic look. _"I'm sorry, Charlotte... I'll get something...from the kitchen... later."  
_

 _"I understand, Your Majesty,"_ Charlotte said simply, not upset that the Queen had yelled at her- after what had just happened (and had been happening over the past six weeks) it was amazing that the Queen hadn't 'lost it' a lot earlier.

"No, Charlotte, I shouldn't have shouted at you, you didn't deserve it," Clarisse said, embarrassed that she had yelled at her loyal assistant. "I..." she was about to continue but Charlotte, who had descended the stairs, stood in front of her and held up a hand, looking at her intently.

"It's alright, Your Majesty, I understand," she said firmly and the two women's eyes met and held until the Queen- Clarisse- realised that she did, truly, understand.

0

"Are they crazy? Why on earth didn't she say yes?" Scott almost shouted later when, upon seeing a sad and sober Charlotte huddled over a cup of tea, he had insisted that she come with him on his tour of the perimeter and she had told him the story. "Surely… surely she could have said yes and then… they could have married after the coronation."

"I don't know… but I know that Joe didn't allow her to explain things properly," Charlotte said bitterly, a twinge of anger towards Joseph. "He just… walked out on her… and she… she was devastated."

"Well, maybe she should have said yes, then," Scott replied tartly.

"Neither of us knew what was going on between them, so we shouldn't judge… but he should have understood the pressures Her Majesty is under at the moment."

"Yes, I'll admit that he probably should have waited… but hasn't he been waiting long enough?"

"Haven't they both?" Charlotte asked gloomily.

There was a heavy silence then as they continued their stroll around the dark palace lands before Scott cleared his throat.

"So… what do we do now?"

"There's nothing we can do, really."

"We can bang their heads together," Scott suggested and Charlotte smiled at that.

"True… but I think we're going to have to wait until after the wedding and then… we could do some brainstorming…."

"That sounds like a plan- after the wedding, we're going to work together to get them back together. Deal?" he held out a hand to her and she shook it.

"Deal."


	24. Wedding Day

_A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- almost finished this story but there are more to come! Merry Christmas!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me_

The atmosphere in the palace was painfully quiet and subdued for the next few days, even when Mia's 'scandal' of being caught out on the palace grounds with Lord Devereaux (Joe's sources informed him that it was Viscount Mabrey who had caused that slight problem) and the possibility that her fiancé would want to break up the engagement (which, with the wedding only days away, would have caused panic), but while Her Majesty had dealt with those calmly and confidently, the day after her ballroom dance with Joseph, Her Majesty's was much, much quieter, more withdrawn than ever, even when she continued to bury herself in details of the wedding.

It was even more obvious that the atmosphere was not only contributed to by Mia's subdued emotions over the wedding but also that something had obviously gone wrong between Her Majesty and Joseph, judging by Her Majesty's withdrawn nature, Joseph's absence from security meetings with Her Majesty in regards to the wedding (Scott was sent in his place) and, according to Scott, he was in a roaring temper.

All in all, the emotions of the major players in the palace contributed to the general atmosphere and feelings of most of the palace staff, and it was a very quiet day when the wedding day dawned, fine and bright.

"Remember, as soon as the Princess is married, we are going to sort out Her Majesty and Joseph," Scott said sternly when they met up in the kitchen, very early that morning, so early that not many palace staff were up, but both Charlotte and Scott had a great deal to do before the bride and the Queen were up and preparing for the wedding.

"Mmmm… I think we might have to leave it a couple of days… maybe until after the wedding," Charlotte said pensively- Her Majesty may be quieter than usual, clearly upset about what had transpired, but she also knew that she couldn't be pushed into doing things before she was ready- and she was actually not quite sure that the Queen, in regards to this issue, would ever be ready.

"We don't have time! Joe's planning on handing in his resignation after today!" Scott suddenly burst out and Charlotte felt her stomach plunge in horror.

"No! Surely…. Surely you're wrong….he would have told me….did he tell you?"

"Well, not exactly," Scott looked slightly abashed. "But I found an envelope on his desk addressed to Her Majesty…. And he had made some small comments in the last few days- when he wasn't blowing up at us- that it 'was time to move on', 'find new challenges'…."

"So… you're not exactly sure that he is planning on leaving?" Charlotte asked hopefully, but it was only a small twinge of hope, she knew Joseph all too well and if he was planning on doing something, he did it… and after what had happened in the ballroom, it made sense to his pride that he left before, according to his own reasoning, he got hurt again.

"No, I'm not… but… the writing's on the wall, Char, I can see it and you can see it as well… hence we don't have the time to wait to try and get them back together."

"Okay," Charlotte agreed slowly. "But… not today… morale is already low in the palace and we need to get through this wedding first…. Agreed?"

"Agreed… if this wedding goes ahead at all," Scott muttered ominously and while Charlotte glared at him, she couldn't help but secretly agree with his sentiments- considering the past month and the associate hiccups that had occurred that during that time, it was natural (although not directly questioning the princess, she had had a lot of pressure on her, as did the Queen- it was parliament's fault) to question what was going to happen …. but the question had to be asked and answered eventually… _IF this wedding goes ahead at all…_

00000

As it turned out, the wedding DID go ahead, but with a completely different bride and groom, and the Princess was still going to be Queen, no matter what….

Even in the weeks to come, once the excitement, surprise and more than a little disbelief over the wedding day had died down to a dull roar (and it was well into October when the wedding wasn't replayed or discussed in the press or on the street), Charlotte couldn't believe how the day had developed and, with one simple decision from a courageous young woman, lives were changed, a couple who had been in love for many years and devoted to each other (even though they had to hide it from the world) were finally allowed to be together and the young woman in question did not have to undergo an arranged marriage.

"What a day!" Scott sighed heavily when, at midnight, when the last guests had left and he and Charlotte and Scott had managed to collapse onto kitchen chairs, a bottle of champagne opened between them- "we deserve it," Scott justified upon opening it.

"Yes, what a day," Charlotte echoed his words- it had been truly a big, momentous day and even she was still surprised at how quickly things changed…..

0

Her Majesty was up earlier than she had expected, going for a stroll in the garden with Maurice, and when she found her, she was doing a last minute perusal of the ballroom.

"It all looks lovely, Charlotte- you have done a marvellous job," Her Majesty said, not looking at Charlotte as she continued walking around the ballroom. "Everything is perfect, it should be a lovely wedding."

"Thank you, ma'am… and Prince Pierre has landed at the airport and is on his way here."

"Good… good," the older woman said distractedly, still looking down at the tables. "I'm glad he is here for the wedding…. Mia met him at her eighteenth birthday party in San Francisco… but it was time for him to come home himself."

"Yes…" Charlotte said uncertainly, not sure what she was supposed to say.

"What about the seating arrangements at the church?"

"All checked and set out… and no, aside from the Prime Minister and his wife, parliament will be sitting in the pews."

"Hopefully they won't cause any trouble today," she muttered bitterly. "It's the least they could do, considering everything they have done over the past month…" she trailed off and looked out in the garden momentarily before glancing quickly at Charlotte. "What about Princess Mia?" she asked, turning professional again. "Is she up yet?"

"Yes, she is in the shower… and I have instructed her ladies maids to let her surprise into her suite…"

"Good, she'll be pleased about that," Her Majesty said with a glimmer of a smile. "She deserves a surprise or two today." She paused again and glanced at her watch. "Have you seen… Joseph this morning?" she sounded oddly casual but Charlotte wasn't at all fooled.

"No, I'm sorry ma'am- I think he was at the church, finalising the security details… would you like me to ask Scott to get in touch with him?"

"No, no thank you… Paolo will be here soon enough and I don't want to keep him waiting."

A brief check on the Princess later in the morning proved that she was happy (and more than a little relieved) that her mother and her step father were with her, as well as her best friend, and she was getting excited about the wedding, but there was something else… a sense of resignation for her duty… and it was something that saddened Charlotte greatly.

The rest of the morning was a whirlwind, ensuring that the Princess and the Queen were both ready for the wedding (and thankfully, Paolo was much easier to get rid of, seeing that he was going to be a guest at the wedding) and she only just managed to get dressed herself before she had to race out to meet the Queen, Prince Pierre and Joseph at the car, ready to go to the church.

"Hello, Charlotte, a lovely day for a wedding," she heard the Prince say as she jogged gently towards the front door and she turned to see Pierre, clad in black with his white collar, striding towards her. "Why are you practically running to the door?"

"I… I didn't want to be late…"

"My mother is on her way… by the way, I need to ask you something?

"Yes?" Charlotte paused to allow him to catch up to her.

"My mother… doesn't seem herself….and I haven't seen Joe around her at all… Has something happened between them?"

"Um…." Charlotte said- she really didn't want to get into this with the queen's son- it was none of her business and Her Majesty was already upset as it was, she didn't want Joseph coming after her if he realised that she was gossiping about them.

"You don't want to say anything, do you?" Pierre correctly interpreted Charlotte's reluctance. "I understand, truly and I do appreciate it- you have always been loyal and dedicated to Her Majesty and she too appreciates that…."

"Something did happen, but I cannot say anymore… Joseph proposed," she burst out, feeling disgusted at herself but Pierre was clearly worried about his mother and she knew that he deserved to know…or did he?

"I suspected as much," Pierre said as they walked towards the waiting royal limousine. "It's about time he did that…" and Charlotte wanted to laugh, but sensed an additional presence and looked to see Joseph standing by the car, looking handsome in the morning suit that had been deemed appropriate for the security detail.

"Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness. Good afternoon Charlotte," he said politely. "Welcome home."

"Thank you, Joe, it's good to be home… temporarily," Pierre said in a much cooler voice than usual (his expression just as cool and calm). "I'm looking forward to the wedding, and I'm impressed with the ballroom and the set up- well done, Charlotte, you have done well," he gave her another appreciative glance. "My mother should be…."

"I'm here," came Her Majesty's clear, strong voice as she emerged from the palace- giving Joseph the chance to wink appreciatively at Charlotte. "Hello, Pierre," she paused briefly to give her son a warm hug. "I'm so glad you came home, you look very handsome… Charlotte, everything looks wonderful…" she trailed off then as she and Joseph regarded each other warily. "Good afternoon, Joseph," she said finally, with a twinge of hope in her voice.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty," he responded quietly, but Charlotte could hear the pain in his voice and she again wondered WHY life was so difficult, why two people who clearly loved each other couldn't be together….

The silence in the yard grew long and tension filled as Joseph and his queen kept watching each other carefully, before Pierre broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"If we're not too careful, we're going to be following the bride to her own wedding… hadn't we better be going?"

"Absolutely," the Queen broke the look and strode with determination towards the car as Joseph stepped forward to open the door, but she didn't look at him again as she stepped into the car as Pierre and Charlotte exchanged a look- this ride to the church was going to be very awkward indeed….

0

The twenty minutes in the church that made Genovian history flew by quicker than Charlotte imagined- the guests were seated, the music playing, Mia walking down the aisle… and then freezing momentarily before racing out of the church, much to the consternation of the guests… but not to the Queen, Charlotte could tell that she had been expecting Mia to do something like this, and she didn't blame her.

When they both returned, Joseph hot on her heels, Charlotte was surprised when Mia shook her head at the bouquet she was offering her, but when she made history a few minutes later by releasing Andrew from their engagement and announcing that she was ready to be Queen… _"without a husband",_ Charlotte knew that she was really ready.

But what she did afterwards, encouraging her grandmother to follow her heart (and Charlotte was desperately trying not to listen to the conversation on her ear piece) was even more amazing, and her grandmother was nearly in tears when the conversation was over.

" _Did you hear that?" she asked Charlotte._

" _Not if you didn't want me to," Charlotte said bravely, but the Queen wasn't fooled as she laughed, suddenly looking radiant, younger than ever._

" _Oh, Charlotte…."_

Ten minutes later, Joseph and his Queen were married and the radiant expression on the Queen's face was worth everything to Charlotte- after the pain of the last few days, as well as the difficult years since the King's death (and even the difficult years while he was alive), it was wonderful to see Her Majesty looking so free and happy… Joseph was less effusive with his emotions, but as they passed Charlotte and Scott (who had given Charlotte a significant look) arm in arm, Charlotte could see the happiness shining out of his eyes and his expression.

"Well, it looks like the Princess managed to sort out the problem," Scott said to Charlotte in an aside as they followed the newlyweds out of the main area of the church- there was still the signing of the wedding certificate, and they were to be additional witnesses after the Prime Minister and the Princess. "I never would have thought of that."

"Of course you wouldn't have," Charlotte teased in a low voice. "But neither would have I," she admitted. "It was very romantic, though."

"Romance, eugh," he sounded disgusted and Charlotte chuckled at his words.

0

The reception went off very well- even though there was a different bride and groom celebrating their marriage- and while the guests has been surprised at the sudden change in the wedding ceremony at the church, they had recovered enough to surround the newlyweds and pass on their congratulations and best wishes.

"They look happy," Prince Pierre said as he stood next to Charlotte. "I don't think Joe expected all these congratulations- he looks a little overwhelmed."

"I honestly don't think he really cares about the congratulations… he is just too happy to really absorb anything."

"Mother looks just as radiant… I don't think I have ever seen her as happy as she is today… and she looks beautiful," Pierre said softly, watching his mother in awe. "I hope they will be very happy together."

"I think… I know they will be."

She had her own duties to fulfil during the reception, but Charlotte had plenty of time to observe the newlyweds, and she found that she couldn't take her eyes off them- now that they were able to be together, they were making up for lost time.

They barely left each other's sides- if the Queen moved away to talk to a guest, Joseph followed her; and if Joseph was talking to one of his security men (even as a newlywed, he was concerned about the security detail and what they were doing), his wife was at his side, smiling radiantly around the room at times but keeping her eyes firmly on her husband.

She flatly refused to dance with any other members of parliament aside from Sebastian, and they spent most of the evening on the dance floor, so Mia happily stepped up to dance with the members of parliament and she looked just as beautiful as her grandmother.

"I think she's definitely ready to become Queen," Pierre said to Charlotte in a low voice as the evening wound down and guests began to leave- the bride and groom themselves had snuck out much earlier in the evening and thankfully no one had noticed.

"She is…and she's going to be a fantastic Queen."

"At least she's not married," he added, shooting a slightly disapproving glance at some of the members of parliament. "That's a ridiculous law and I'm glad that she has gotten rid of it."

"As am I," Charlotte said softly.

"So," he turned to look at her. "What's next for you?

"What do you mean? I have to oversee the cleaning up, and then preparing for the coronation…"

"No, after that. Now that my mother is married and about to step down from the throne, she won't need you as a personal assistant anymore."

"I… I don't know…" Charlotte hadn't thought of that- she has been primarily focused to the wedding and then trying to get Joseph and Clarisse back together- but now that Pierre had brought it up, she had no idea what she was going to do….

"I didn't mean to worry you or anything, but…."

"No, it's something that I need to think about… I'm quite sure that Princess Mia will want her own team in place…"

"You never know, she might want you…."

"No, it's right that she has own personal assistant…."

"Have you thought about parliament?"

"Parliament?"

"Become a member of parliament… there will be a few that will retire very soon and I'm sure that my niece will be looking for appropriate replacements- and I think you would be a good choice. Just a suggestion, that's all."

0

"So, are you looking forward to being the new Head of Security for the new Queen?" Charlotte teased and Scott sighed.

"Honestly… I had been hoping for another couple of years but…"

"You can hardly expect Joe to keep working now that he's a married man."

"He did get a very nice severance package," Scott mused. "There are benefits to being retired…."

"Yes, I think so… and I'm very glad that we don't have to try and get them to work it out."

"Well, I'm sure we would have done alright…"

"What would you have suggested we have done?" Charlotte teased.

"Lock them in Her Majesty's study until they sorted themselves out," he shrugged lightly.

"I would have liked to see you try," Charlotte teased and Scott laughed along with her, before a companionable silence fell between them.

"So… the coronation," he said finally.

"The coronation," she repeated.

"Another historical moment."

"Yes, it is… are you ready?"

"Yes… are you?"

"Of course."

"Here's to the new Queen," he toasted his glass towards hers and she clinked her glass against his.

"And Mr and Mrs Bonnell."

"To Mr and Mrs Bonnell."


	25. The Coronation

_A/N: FINALLY finished! Thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers, I hope you have enjoyed the journey and I will be back soon enough!_

 _The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!_

The excitement of the royal wedding hadn't dimmed at all by the morning of the coronation- in fact, the wedding added even more excitement to the coronation itself. To the people of Genovia, the wedding had signified the beginning of a new chapter, a new generation of Renaldis to lead the country into the twenty first century.

The Queen to be had been busy in the lead up to the coronation- while her grandmother was on her honeymoon, she had assisted Charlotte with the final preparations to the coronation, as well as starting to peruse the paperwork that her grandmother had been reading before the summer session.

"There is quite a lot to read, isn't there?" Mia joked to Charlotte one morning after she had read the minutes of the last parliamentary sessions. "I never realised how much happens in a session of parliament!"

"There are important issues usually discussed, but that meeting…" Charlotte trailed off, realising that the last session had invoked the law that had forced the princess to marry within thirty days before ascending the throne…

"Yeah, that meeting was quite a meeting… I was there, did you know?"

"Really, where?"

"I was listening through that secret passageway….I thought I was discovered when Grandma made that speech…"

"Yes, I think there were a few people who were wondering who made that noise."

"I found the tunnel completely by accident," Mia protested and Charlotte laughed.

"Your grandmother said that your father and uncle found it quite useful at times, particularly when they were playing pranks or trying to get away from their security…"

"Getting away from their security, hmm?" Mia suddenly looked impish and Charlotte gave her a mock stern glance.

"Don't you dare even think about it, Her Majesty and Joe will not allow you to do that."

"Ohhh," she sounded momentarily childlike, before she gave Charlotte a broad smile. "No, I don't think that I will try that."

"Good."

There was a short silence for a moment as Mia shuffled through the papers on her grandmother's desk before looking back up at Charlotte again.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do now?"

"No, not really… I wouldn't mind going back to the Attaché Corps, there's always different opportunities there, and my former boss said that he would be very happy to have me back there."

"No."

"I'm sorry," Charlotte was startled at the vehemence in her tone. "What?"

"No, you can't go back to the Attaché Corps- it's like you'll be going backwards."

"Well, what do you suggest I do, Your Highness?" Charlotte asked coolly.

"Well… I've been thinking about it and I want to introduce women into parliament. There are a few men that will be retiring after Christmas and…. I want to change a few things… and I think that you would make a fantastic member of parliament… and Grandma agrees with me, as does Uncle Pierre."

"You… spoke to Her Majesty about this? W…when?"

"Oh, before the wedding of course… actually it was in the last couple of weeks, and she thinks it is a great idea."

"B… But," Charlotte couldn't stop stammering but she was genuinely shocked- the princess and Pierre had been discussing her career options behind her back, and had involved Her Majesty in the process.

"I know you don't want to leave the palace, and I think I would love you as my personal assistant, but I think you deserve a promotion- and being a member of parliament is definitely a promotion."

"But… what about the Prime Minister? Surely…."

"I've already briefly mentioned it to him, and while there will be a few things that we will need to discuss, he's on board as well… Come on Charlotte, it's a massive compliment to you and I think you would do very well… I need more women in my parliament."

"Well… I'll think about it."

"You will do more than think about it, you will accept it."

"You're not trying to boss my personal assistant around, are you Amelia?" came a voice from the doorway and they turned to see Clarisse and Joseph, hand in hand, standing there.

"No, Grandma… I was just telling her that she has to accept my offer to be in parliament… I think she would do really well there."

"You don't know whether it's going to be allowed."

"I think it will, and I think Charlotte should be in parliament…. What do you think, Joe?" she turned beseechingly towards Joseph who only chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't bring me into this, Princess," he said before he looked at Charlotte. "But, for what it's worth, Charlotte would make a fine parliamentarian."

Charlotte blushed at the praise and Mia clapped her hands together in delight as the Queen rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Mia."

"I could ask why you and Joe are here, you're supposed to be on your honeymoon!"

"We… well, I," Clarisse amended as Joseph squeezed her hand gently. "Just wanted to make sure that everything was ready for the coronation."

"It is, Your Majesty," Charlotte said quickly. "Everything is all done and ready."

"Good… and Charlotte?" the Queen looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "After tomorrow, you cannot call me Your Majesty anymore… tomorrow, I will be Clarisse."

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte nodded, trying not to blush.

"But you can call ME Your Majesty," Mia said with a cheeky grin and her grandmother sighed exasperatedly.

"Mia!"

000

The day of the coronation dawned fine and bright, and the palace, as always, was a hive of activity- even Her Majesty… Clarisse… and Joseph were up early. Pierre went to church earlier in the morning and was back in time for breakfast with his family.

"It's the beginning of a new era!" he said to Charlotte with a grin when they collided in the foyer. "My mother has had an extraordinary reign, but it's time for her to have a private life and Mia is more than ready to become Queen…. and she was be just as extraordinary."

"I agree… Pierre," Charlotte asked after a moment.

"Finally, you manage to call me by my name rather than my former title!" he chuckled. "Yes, you wanted to ask me something?"

"Do you… did you want all this?" she waved around the foyer at the flowers, the decorations, the palace staff milling around, and he shook his head.

"No. Never. Even when I was growing up, I never felt that I would be King… Phillipe, yes, but not me and while I knew that I would disappoint my parents when I abdicated, I couldn't stay. The throne didn't feel as though it belonged to me…. and it does belong to Mia that I know."

The rest of the morning flew by quickly, the guests began arriving (including Lord Nicholas Devereaux, who hadn't been seen since the wedding and his loud proclamation of his devotion to Queen Mia, who had surprised the young Queen to be in the throne room) and both the Queen and Princess were in their suites, dressing.

The Princess was very excited- she had her mother, Lily and some of her girlfriends in with her- but she pulled away from the group to hug Charlotte.

"Thank you, thank you so much for everything… helping both Grandma and me so much… I won't forget it."

"It's been an honour and a privilege, Your Highness… Mia," she corrected herself quickly.

She paused outside the Queen's suite for a moment- this would be the last time she would address Her Majesty as such, and she was feeling a little nervous on her behalf.

When she stepped inside, Joseph was pacing slightly while Her Majesty was sitting calmly in a chair, the crown she had worn on her coronation on her head.

"Everything is ready when you are, Your Majesty," she said politely and Joseph looked at his wife for a moment.

"This is it."

"This is it," Clarisse affirmed before reaching out her hands towards Joseph and he helped her slowly to her feet.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, lifting her hand to his lips and brushing it lightly. "You will be most beautiful woman in the room… along with your granddaughter," he added, before he kissed her hand again. "I'll see you downstairs," and he smiled warmly at Charlotte as he passed her.

There was a long silence before Clarisse slowly made her way towards her, a warm, radiant smile on her face- she was clearly very happy being married to Joseph, her son and granddaughter were back in her life and now that she was about to step down from the throne, Charlotte couldn't imagine how much happier she could be.

"I would like to thank you for everything you have done for the past couple of months, especially, but ever since you came to work at the palace. You have done an absolutely amazing job and I… have commended you to Sebastian Motaz as a possible candidate for parliament."

"Your Majesty….Clarisse…. it's been more than an honour and a privilege working for you, but you didn't have to do that…."

"I do and I did," she said firmly, pausing in front of Charlotte and taking her hands in hers. "You are a very bright young woman and you will be of great assistance to Mia in parliament… although I will miss seeing you around the palace," she added with a gentle, joking smile. "But I hope that we will be able to see each other around sometimes, at least."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Charlotte said gently, before there was a knock on the door, signalling that it was time to go.

"Alright… let's go," Clarisse took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "I had forgotten how heavy this crown is… but let's go," before she slowly made her way towards the door, Charlotte, as always, at her side.

0

The coronation ceremony was as dignified, formal and traditional as possible, but there was a difference- both the past and present Queens were radiant, clearly, absolutely radiant- and both were ready to let go (Clarisse) and embrace her future (Mia).

It also helped that the men in their respective lives- Joseph and Nicholas- were standing as close as possible to the stairs, and Charlotte couldn't help but notice Joseph move closer to Clarisse as soon as the Archbishop lifted the crown off her head.

She got chills when the Master at Arms banged his gavel on the floor once the ceremony was over and announced: "Presenting Her Majesty Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Queen of Genovia!" and she couldn't help but feel intensely patriotic as the choir began singing the National Anthem again.

"This has been a great day," she heard Scott say from behind her once the ceremony was over the guests were milling around- for once, Charlotte had a few moments to herself.

"Yes it has."

"So, what now for you?" Scott knew about her concern for her future- and he too thought that she would make a great parliamentarian- but for today, Charlotte wasn't going to worry about it. She had a few options- although she suspected she would be in parliament, a thought that excited and appealed to her greatly, although she didn't want to be seen to be using her close relationship with the Queen Dowager to bring that about- but today, it was all about celebrating the future of Genovia.

"I'm not sure yet, but I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I hope I'm not going to be eavesdropping anymore!" Charlotte turned to him with a grin and he laughed along with her.

"Well, it certainly made your life more interesting….but yes, I think your eavesdropping days may be over!"


End file.
